Best Seaward Poems
In moments of twilight civility
an exchange of gifts -
darkness for light..
RISING
from beyond the softening silhouette edge
you brighten like a blushing damsel
hazy haloed
unabashed in the pleasure of ripening
daydreamer
...a vivid blur of lemon drop...
veiled by a wispy fanfare of mares’ tails
windswept forth in pinkened pageantry
heralding the maturing marmalade horizon -
arousing a drowsing periwinkle sky
your prosperous glow casts a molten net of gold
slanting low across the ebb and flow
igniting the imagination
- agleam with peachy dreams -
of just-waking waters
while catching fire-tipped riffles;
rubies gathered ride the tide to the coastline
glamorizing the washed still-sleepy seaward sand
saturated in the rose-colored nectar
of your generous nature ~
Susan Ashley
October 13, 2018
*Mare’s tail: a long narrow cirrus cloud whose flowing appearance somewhat resembles a horse’s tail, often indicating high winds in the upper troposphere.*
Lighthouse Litany
Statuesque and stalwart in your seaward gaze
There's such comfort in your beauty, you amaze!
Seafaring ships lost in wayward windswept seas
Conjures fears of drowning in crews prayerful pleas
As sailors catch sight of your luminous light,
You guide them to safety on a moonless night.
Your gift of guidance upon this rocky shore
Lends soulagement to nightmares of mystic lore.
To many you’re deemed an angel with Lord's light
With your elevated beam into the night.
So beloved also by those upon the earth...
You've earned the honors bestowed upon your worth.
12-23-18
Lighthouse Poetry Contest~Third Place~
Sponsor Eve Roper
Hissing heartshaped
Dragon draped route
Escaped ship slips
Camouflaged trap
Seaward map shown
Sails slap in breeze
Portal to sea
Songs of glee flow
From freedom's voice
Inspired by Debbie's contest..
I'll tell you a tale
of our own Devil's Island
and the demonic crash
of the waves in the swell.
The smell and the taste
of the ball breaking weather;
the ghosts that deliver
poor sailors to Hell.
We were out in the water
in the Magdalens
the wind plucked the ropes
of our rigging at sea.
We looked for a port
and saw many lights flashing
"That's old Devil's Island,"
said the skipper to me.
Tongues began hurling
their fierce imprecations
"to come to the island
safe landfall to thee."
But the skipper turned round
the ship with a vengeance,
"That old Devil's Island
will never get me."
I thought he was mad
to be scared of a legend
it was my first time
in a storm on the sea
and two men washed over
to Davey Jones locker
"God bless 'em, they'll rest now,"
the skip said to me.
Protesting the treatment
of two forlorn sailors
I said to the skipper,
"It's not very well."
"It's better," he said,
"that they're resting in Heaven
than entering into
the portals of Hell."
The wind lasted the night
then the voices did falter
the lights blinkered out
and I saw very well
so many rocks, jagged
just waiting to smash us
the Devil's Isle gateways
await in the swell.
If you're on a ship
and the voices of demons
come tell you it's safe
in their harbor a lee
remember the shoreline
at old Devil's Island
then turn the ship seaward
and gracelessly flee.
My schooner eases
into the tiger claw
that an umber peninsula
juts seaward.
The carnelian bay
beckons like honey
as I aim
for twilight's tangerine
and sun's waning citrine
in amber haze.
Papaya clouds whipped
by solar winds
breathe the siren lure
of bronze oceans
in the scriptural future
to my restless golden heart.
6/30/2018
sparkling dancing sea waves touch the shore with flowing magic
of cobalt blue filaments that reflect the sky above
oh endless the huge expanses of pristine shoreline
and the jagged seaward cliffs where cormants and auks nest
wild deep and cold oh restless the rising tide . . .
a cool wind whips off the sea and gulls call
the fishing pier lonely of fishermen this morn'
boardwalks a vast emptiness
foraging albotrosses glide then plunge into the sea
sea waves crashing on weathered rocks in an endless rolling
gentle foaming changes to wild thunder
and yet serene the sea shore view to me
I stayed with the crashing till the last rays of sunset
that fringed the horizon then dipped and fell . . .
and in the moonlight the shore is darkly elusive
with hidden life and I drink the tranquility
this mysterious vastness of endless sand and views
and always in the background those unending waves
caressing
the sea shore . . .
___________________________
February 1, 2016
Poetry/Free Verse/The Sea Shore
Copyright Protected, ID 16-750-997-0
All Rights Reserved. Written under Pseudonym.
For the contest, The Sea Shore
Sponsor, Craig Cornish
Honorable Mention
I stroll a silvered landscape
where trees are silhouetted spears,
stabbing memories of days first walked with you . . .
ice traceries, firey strands of longing lace,
wrap the crumbling dream,
like brittle, curling tinsel from childhood holidays.
A burning stream of cold tumbles seaward,
dislodging jagged stones, desire and disgust;
wounding barren feet.
Backward . . .
I trace pink-tinged footprints
along the line of demarcation
where love once gamboled in innocence
before the moon capitulated
and collapsed into the sea.
Lovely she was, but she is no more.
Copyright August 3, 2018
Solitary seafarer sings sea chanties,
salty sea breeze serenity,
sea birds skim waves,
suddenly, so many sailors' souls
of the sunken WW II ship USS Indianapolis
started singing sonorous,
soaring from sea sepulcher,
stirring sacrifice so sacred,
such sorrow,
souls still scintillating, still seaward,
servicemen shipmates solemnized,
seared, sealed in spiritual solidarity,
salute. ~
Arrogant autocratic Ahab
Sails set seaward
Heartless harpoon high
Wind wracked Waves
Revenge rage regret
Wretched white whale
Opaque Ocean oblivious
Deep dark dangerous
Titanic terrors traversing
Captain callous cold
Blood bought bonds
Obsidian oaths ordured
Foreboding fears fester
Sacrosanct silent seas
Motionless midst moonset
Dim daylight dawned
Spray shot skyward
Lithe Longboats launched
Barnacled Behemoth Breaching
Heartless harpoons hefted
Destruction death defeat
Ahab alone as Achilles did battle
Poised proud purposeful in battle
Long lance light in hand for battle
White whale welcomes the battle
Dives deep deep to rise to the battle
Man monster meet to do battle
The sea is still, it has no tale to tell
FROM DREAMS OF DREAMS OF THE SEA AND ME
(FOR TONI M.)
Standing, staring seaward,
Sore eyes see the horizon resting content
On the frothing pillows of the beaconing sea;
Here I stand consumed in the web
Of lingering thoughts spun from dreams of dreams
Somehow always dreaming back to me:
Incomplete
Drifting dreams deferred.
The sun peeks out under shades of clouds reflecting
Sable apparitions: Beautiful blackbirds’ breasts
Gleam with ebony luster:
Sweet silent stares shatter.
The chilled ocean breeze conjures
Whispering echoes of screams:
Ancestral moans and groans echo
From the bowels of sunken ships;
Staring seaward, stepping sand
Backwards, I leave fading footprints.
The echoes follow.
Day has sunk and the old fisherman, like a well-trained athlete, rows his rugged boat.
Defying starry night's turbulent waves,
It cruises seaward, smooth and swift, like an agile proud fish.
Then, into his net a shooting star drops; hauls he a thousand delicate, bright starfish.
Guided by remaining stars, he comes home with a boatful
Of glimmering soft, fleshy crystals of hope to his daughter's eager waving
At the murky, starless bay. Her voice rushes out in tidal sound-waves.
She puts a finger in, fishing
One live hope, stellar and warm, out of what used to be a champion's sailboat.
Rocking the boat and making waves, their laughter splashes like a floundering fat fish.
(Form: loose tritina)
Aethiopia is a land of exquisite beauty,
Inhabited by a princess worthy of its charms.
And the king her father thought it his duty
To boast of her glamour in spite of envious alarms.
So the lovely Andromeda sitting on the shore,
Her long hair waving seaward in the salty breeze,
Has been chained to rock by vengeance heretofore.
But the brave Perseus arrives and her he frees,
After slaying the sea monster with a vicious gore.
Now Andromeda is the goddess of all my dreams,
Who reigns supreme in the celestial sphere.
Her beauty is yet unique in the heavenly schemes,
And can cause clouds and tempest to disappear.
If I for a moment neglect to confess her glamour,
Savage beast would roar her praise from lust.
The most ardent lover she forces to stammer,
Her charms makes their tongues unable to adjust,
For it is that womanly way she has with men to enamour.
The forests, streams and all of nature are her gift,
Since every creature with a heart she delights.
O God make me her Perseus and please be swift,
For she is my only dream on starry nights.
My brand is honed sharp to slay the dragon,
And the keys to her chains lay buried in my sack.
We will fly away on a Pegasus drawn wagon,
And sail the celestial ocean in a star guided yacht.
To toast life eternal, may I lift this star-studded flagon?
While the water’s whitened waves
Flew forth fast in foamy sprays
All amidst an airy act
Blowing, blasting, beating back
Seeing swarthy, seaward sailing ships
Onward o’er the ocean dips
Upward, downward, driving days
Seeking harbors, havens haste their ways
The ships sail sure in stormy seas
Calmly coursing comes a breeze
Now softly sailing, slides the ship
Muffled, mellow, made my trip
She moves in glorious motion,
Her progress marked by many eyes.
A vision to delight the crowd
gathered together for this her debut.
Coloured ribbons adorn her, as
She moves in glorious motion,
Sweeping across the bright tableau.
Her beauty and grace seen by all.
Light sparkles from faceted jewels
decorating her slim figure.
She moves in glorious motion,
dancing as if floating on clouds.
Born of man yet with divine grace,
answering swiftly to wind and wave.
The Clipper sprints seaward, yet still,
She moves in glorious motion.
.
Rain, flood
Excess water
Compact heavy snowfall
Melting snow, rain courses seaward
Flooding