Best Tidal Poems
Waves
crashing;
then
breaking
on the beach.
Ebbing
and
flowing
tides controlled
by moon and earth.
Twice a day
high tides
and
low tides;
dancing waves
enchant
for
ever
more
Kim Merryman – Shall We Waltz Contest
06~11~15
Categories:
tidal, nature, sea,
Form:
Verse
Tidal Waves
Brackish debris filled surf retreats
depositing into hard sand graves
pictures stolen from post cards
Shards of a city strewn disjointedly
still ticking clocks idled in the moment
streets awash in decorative disarray
liquid mud roiling through the streets
ravenous pain stalking its victims
cold shock of sunshine’s failure
hands clutching grabbing
carried on the crust of fear
waving in silent farewell
luxury and comfort crushed
wild furor of seismic waves
expending tectonic energy
John G. Lawless
5/12/2015
submitted to - Show but Don’t Tell – Poetry Contest
sponsor – Thomas Martin
Categories:
tidal, horror, natural disasters,
Form:
Free verse
© Dr. Upma A. Sharma
Tidal locking
Like waxing and waning
of moon, his love shuddered,
The tidal locking
that hampered my zing,
Effulgent life lost
in darker side of silvery moon.
In its brightness
drowned my shimmer,
Then it abated into a sickle
to slice my pride,
Forlorn, I chose to live by
the dark side of the moon.
Consumed by its force,
deep on this side of earth
where peace calls my name
I lean and stay,
over the reflection of waves
on the dark side of the moon
The horizon rips my heart
two bodies weaken
by its physical use,
and tidal locking
Welcoming and affecting everything
On the dark side of the moon
Written August 11th, 2015
Contest- collaboration celebration contest
I am Thankful to Linda for contributing last two stanzas that have made it amazingly meaningful and beautiful.
~ A poet destroyer collaboration~
Tidal locking- tidal forces from Earth slow down rotation of moon and the same side faces the earth. The other side, the darker side always remains dark.
Categories:
tidal, dark, moon,
Form:
Free verse
In our darkest nights and our brightest days,
emotions fill us like tidal waves.
They can drag us down and pull us in,
trying to drown us from within.
They can raise us up or let us down,
but if you don't know how to swim, you'll simply drown.
There are storms across my seven seas,
lightning strikes, sharks circling me.
My legs are tired, my chest is tight.
I'm not sure how much longer I can fight.
I gasp for air, I scream and shout,
But these tidal waves drown me out
Categories:
tidal, deep, depression,
Form:
Bio
In that September early evening
The waves came strolling in
From far beyond my line of sight.
The horizon was nothing
But a fading glimpse of yesterday
As the day turned into night.
Water lapped up on the sand
Completing its titanic, oceanic journey
Before turning back once more;
Flooding my mind
With thoughts, emotions and memories
At the edge of the ocean floor.
As I watched the water swirl into eddies
And tide pools attract everything
From sea urchins to cephalopods
Reminding me that we’re all in-different
Phases of tidal pull until returning
Back to God.
The colors in the sky were brilliant
As if Michelangelo and Da Vinci
Had been hired to paint the scene.
And sitting there watching the sun disappear
I was struck by the idea that as the old song sings:
Life is but a dream.
Categories:
tidal, nature, ocean,
Form:
Some kids went on wild safari
others sunned in Côte d'Azur
but we stayed home to ‘summer’ on
our driftwood beach with rope and hammers
nails and cheez whiz bread
while morning mist from bull kelp beds
took flight and seagulls thread
thin strings of wind above the boulder
undisturbed and dreaming for
one million one
millennia
until the onslaught on the isthmus—
that startled rock awoken by
symbols snaked and hissing, hands
cold with human want
We built our jetsam vessel then
shoved off in churning tiderip
and paddled hard to reach that stone
bewildered still and bleeding while
Decades tumbled from the sky
into ephemeral dawn
where herons stretch above that shock
of progress bought and sold
and Dungeness
blue Abalone
now tokens on the sand
for every mega-million fortress
walled and stoned and gaping
Categories:
tidal, life
Form:
Personification
Come dance in the waters
that summer has warmed
amidst the froth of the seas
Hear the sighs that echo from tides
as the crescents ripple in breeze
Join the surfers
as they ride in on the waves
balancing bravely so tall
watch as their confidence grows so high
until showing off some do fall
It’s one enormous bath
with the plug left in
where people swim around in the quay
and in that huge sink, the ships sail in
with the goods coming home from away
See how the bathers go in for a dip
desperate to cool down in the sun
and children play sports
on the beach with new friends
running around with such fun
Categories:
tidal, happiness, holiday, life, natural
Form:
Free verse
I broke my foot, and you kissed me that night, in front of my car.
I could barely walk, but I floated away.
It all began and ended, as powerful as a hurricane.
What we had was taken too soon, and your mother didn’t approve.
She never did like me much, but that didn’t stop you.
We blossomed, like a flower on a warm sunny day.
Until that fateful day when I heard the news.
There had been an accident. The driver didn’t see you.
Frozen in time, as I was informed of your demise.
I couldn’t move, as my heart sank to the depths of the cold dark ocean.
Frost bitten, as time stood still.
Ship wrecked as my world came crashing down.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I couldn’t believe this was the end.
I couldn’t believe you were gone.
Emotion like waves crashing and turning.
By the time my foot healed, you were gone.
The funeral came and everything blurred together.
Your art on display, a museum dedicated to you.
Your mother, finally recognized me, as I looked over you laying there.
I’ll never forget the pain in her eyes, as she thanked me and apologized.
This ship has run aground, unable to ever sail again.
Categories:
tidal, death of a friend,
Form:
Elegy
The Tidal Wave
A tidal wave of disastrous proportions
will soon drench our evil sinful land,
it will be sent from the Father God Himself
and Jesus our Savior, sitting at His right hand.
For many people are praying for such a wave
and seeking God’s face like never before,
giving up the things of this world
and loving Jesus and the Word of God they truly do adore.
Looking as Elijah did when on earth it had
not rained for three and a half years,
seeking this wave of God by praying and fasting
and weeping before the Lord buckets of your tears.
Never being satisfied with a few drops
that from Heaven have already fallen,
but asking for the deluge of the great latter rain
and standing on the Word of God and what the prophets of old have spoken
We cannot be complacent now
when this wave is just about to come,
sweeping millions into the Kingdom by its wake
and helping to get this mighty harvest done.
So, will you also stand and pray and watch
and be ready for what our Almighty God is about to do,
for when this glorious harvest is done
He is coming again for me and for you.
Written by: Marilyn S. Jennings
May 26, 2000
Categories:
tidal, christian, visionary,
Form:
Free verse
"In the 1840s, two sisters fall in love with the same man.
While drunk, he writes a letter proposing marriage
to the wrong one."
My friend from New Zealand calls from Palm Beach
to tell me in her lovely down-under tones
that David, her husband of 40 years is gone.
She'll go in August, that august month, to take home
what's left of the hearty man who loved her--
admired me. Ashes to ashes, earth to earth,
dust to dust, or in the case of the precious 65%
of the body, water, returned to water.
New Zealand, Yes! "Green Dolphin Street," old film
of transport. Lana Turner in her finest role.
Van Heflin, concealing love for the bride sent-for
in error--her inconsolable sister fleeing
to the sea, whose incoming tide entrapped her.
A rocky climb to safe haven with the holy women
at the top of her washed-out world saved her.
Poor girl, first time an ocean ordered
"Get thee to a nunnery!"
I have been a witness to the mysterious tide
of Mont St. Michel's 'plein mer,' its glistening lip, gliding
snake-like to reclaim what was solid, solid no more;
threaten feckless strollers struck with sea fever,
or a would-be bride in wrongful death. Solid, this earth,
as far as we know, "terra firma," yet terra agua
summons us: the cobalt ocean of my childhood,
a sparkling Paris fountain, its sibling in St.-Michael
town, assorted rivers I have loved: Georgia's
Chattahoochee, the fabled Seine, or the Flint River
of family outings. These move the plasmic stream
within, washing where the ashes of my brothers
enrich the ocean. David's destination, as he
follows their lead, and Yes! I will join them
when the tidal heart runs out.
for my brothers, George and Jim
Categories:
tidal, philosophylove, ocean,
Form:
Prose Poetry
Tidal Wave
A rumble, a shift; deep in the abyss.
You would never even notice, a minor thing to miss.
The forces of the shock, move silently along.
On shore, the villagers; knew nothing to be wrong.
Closer and closer, the rippling of the waves.
A voice of Mother Earth; the laws of Newton’s slaves.
On the shelf it gathers, increasing in its might.
To build a Titan’s hand, and smash a deadly plight.
Up and up the water, a wall is rising high.
Blotting out the sun and the deeply azuring sky.
So terrible the Chaos, bursting forth the dam.
Annihilating the meek; the silencing of the lamb.
In moments it had ended, Quiet was the shore.
The village and its people, Terra made no-more.
The few that did survive; For loved ones, tears did flow.
Picked up their few possessions and sought a place to go.
No matter where you are, this land you are upon,
life it does not stop, the living shall go on.
Mother Nature gives us love, I believe it is her goal.
But sometimes she is harsh, extracting a heavy toll.
Categories:
tidal, life, natural disasters,
Form:
Sonnet
small trumpeter waves wash ashore
the sea grins with ease
children scamper on the beach
like search lights that never rest
in one place
buoyant surf beckons,
gravitational pull to choppy splashes
skin bronzed children rush the waves,
an explosion of liberation
their squeals to rival passing gulls
theatrics to run in and out of cold
as hot rays of sun melt reserve
instant sheen of glee
till frozen toes dig into warming sand
childhood innocence pristine
like polished shells on a shelf
in pink-white shades
spiraled secrets
of the surf spilling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
safe ashore
soothing presence
adults watching
the fresh faced playfulness
aged side-step from currents' undertow
to sense risk
from surf surges that toss one to the beach
lives in a rising swell
wounds of immersion
the burden of seasons
July's brooding heat of sentiment
to recall untroubled times
a tide into memory
when memory resists waves
like castles fortified in sand
till gulped by the sea
Poem composed: June 9/2022
Revised December 19th/2022
Categories:
tidal, appreciation, beach, child, childhood,
Form:
Free verse
Friday Night Check-ins
The days have been calm and collected.
The guests have been happy, content.
The weekday staff scurry out from the hotel
To avoid the upcoming event.
Weekend receptionists tremble
As the Friday night check-ins approach,
Fearing the tsunami of wrinklies
On their three-day excursions-by-coach.
The first vehicle’s brakes squeal their warning
As its door opens up with a sigh.
The girl at the desk and her male teammate
Watch the porchway with dread in their eyes.
The first wrinkly disembarks backwards,
Reaching up to be handed her Zimmer.
The scowl on her face giving more than a hint
Of the litany of protests within her.
Slowly the vehicle disgorges
Its fifty malcontent arrivals.
The front desk staff offer a brief heartfelt prayer
For their sanity, composure, survival.
Like an unerring wave of displeasure
The wrinklies shuffle in through the door,
Shoving aside anyone heading out –
They’ve made this manoeuvre before.
The party’s predominantly female,
Determined and far from benign.
Apart from one chap, in windcheater and cap
Looking hen-pecked and toeing the line.
They descend on reception like locusts,
Complaining, demanding and cackling.
The staff at the desk have nowhere to hide
From the surge of objections they’re tackling.
Ground floor room! No steps! Wheelchair access!
Why no lift? Single occupant! Porter!
The tottery old girl with the big Zimmer frame
Demands a young man to escort her.
The onslaught is tough and relentless
As the wrinklies press home their attack.
Then, deftly dealt-with, the tidal wave thins
As they head to their rooms to unpack.
Pleased with the way things were handled,
The reception-staff think they’ve survived.
But outside the lobby, brakes hissing with glee,
Another full coach has arrived…
Categories:
tidal, age, england, funny, humor,
Form:
Rhyme
The old desires
for domination
drifts in once again
on the ocean waves,
one frothy lap
riding atop the other
with ever growing
intensity.
As the moon and sun
rise and set daily
the ancient battles
repeatedly plays out
around the world.
The rotating force
of gravitation pull
forever to be
the victor.
Written for Francine Roberts..."on the ocean waves"...contest
Categories:
tidal, nature, sea, ocean,
Form:
Free verse
traveling through air
these tidal waves show no threat
seen nor to be heard
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i can't bother what ppl say about me .. i am me
not gone change .. so these words willl just go by my ears .. as the air moves it with it
Categories:
tidal, me,
Form:
Haiku