Barking Madly at the Shore
The early morning wakes to find
the sun struggling above the horizon,
offering what warmth it can,
to a shivering sweep of sky
that is blue with cold.
Below, the sea whispers secrets,
playfully licking at the shoreline
while litter starts to sprint the beach
and jigsaw pieces of cloud
slowly smudge-grey the sky.
Before long, the sea has gained
a mischievous glint in its watery eye
and is barking madly at the shore
as it sends waves to froth and foam
around a finger of lighthouse.
As the day ages, the sea rhythms on
while distant ships slip and slide by
and the occasional winged seagull,
like a torn piece of white paper,
is ripped from the scene.
Eventually as a distant hand
throws darkness all around,
the lighthouse can be seen
silvering the moonless sea;
a detective on its latest case.
Ian Souter
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
No one can brake us apart
He'll be my friend, ti'll the end
He doesn't play pretend
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
We only have, one enemy
His name is, negativity
We don't let him play with us, anymore
Kicked him away, made him pay
He washed up on the shore
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
The one and, only
No one else, is quite like him
Makes me smile, on a whim
He's really, somthing else
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Makes me, happy
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
Me and positivity
No one can brake us apart
"You hold Eternity in your hand!"
Boomed the ocean to the shore.
"For, in every grain of sand -
Is Earth's history for evermore! "
lake water mirrors
the sky's vast flitting canvas~
peace rests on its shore
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, "I'm possible!" ~ Audrey Hepburn
Two powerful words both very shockable.
"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore." ~ Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus opened wide the door,
to see and hear the ocean roar.
"Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I react to it." ~ Charles Swindoll
In life I will not quit,
for God gave me the wit.
"If the wind will not serve, take the oars" ~ Latin Proverb
Will the wind open the doors?
Maybe showing sea dinosaurs.
"Fall seven times and stand up eight" ~ old proverb
What will be my fate?
Getting back up will make me great.
Each one here has a different meaning,
some from life and some from dreaming.
The final rush of water slows
its pace
To trace a lace of white upon
the sand,
A gentle, slow, and soft-
unfolding grace
That gently pulls the edges
of the land.
The wave returns to where it
first began,
To heal the wounds of where
the currents tore,
To wash away the heavy
steps of man
And smooth the wrinkled
apron of the shore.
It is sacred rhythm, dark
and old,
A constant breath that never
seeks to rest,
A story told and then again
retold,
Upon the ocean's wide and
changing breast.
The wave is gone, but still the
water rise,
To match the turning of the
midnight skies.
There's a beach where the sand
Won't get in your shoes
Or stick to your skin
When you're covered with sweat.
The shore's always clean
No trash or dead fish
And the water's still
Clear enough to drink.
In your mind, I hope and pray,
There's room for me
To kick that sand around
And be with you on your shore.
Your Shore first published in High Tide Still Heart: Collection of Shells, Solitude & Ocean Rhythm, Blue Crystal Literary Magazine, 2026, all rights reserved. ISBN 106727832X
The roaring sound from above,
Like my thoughts are not silent anymore.
They roar, they shout, they scream,
As if they want to break free
From the agony they carry,
As though it were meant to stay forever.
Yeah...
It's been a long time since that season,
When they chose their way
To turn into waves
In the cold breeze,
To pour from their scars
Like some old Disney story.
But stories always found their sunshine,
While these clouds still wander.
The rain keeps falling,
Carrying pieces of yesterday,
And every drop that touches the earth
Whispers a name I tried to forget.
But yeah,
Beyond this thunder,
There is always a steady sky.
Perhaps these waves are not meant
To drown me,
Only to teach me
How to return to the shore.
My feet caressed the sand.
I walked along the magically sunlit shore.
Wanted this to never end.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2026
crimson sky collapsed
in trance ~
distant shore swooning —
dissolved baleen …crescent moon landed
in sunset s p l e e n ~
narrowing focus to locus ______
____________________________________
Bronze Winner: Shortform Poetry
Prompt : crimson haze
Allpoetry. com : May 26
By Phan Tan Hai
Holding his alms bowl, the monk walks on,
his robe stitched from clouds across the sky;
we send him back to the mountain corner—
how many partings in a single life.
Standing, sitting—all for the people,
his chest still aching from blades once struck;
tears flooding the three realms,
Avalokitesvara embodied in his form.
A time he left, burdened with sorrow,
feet weary along both banks of the Ganges;
turning back, he awakened as Minh Trí,
his hair falling like dust along the road.
— For my friend Nguyen Cong Bang,
later a Theravada monk with the Dharma name Minh Tri.
Life is in
the nuance
When freedom
is entranced
A mystic shore
horizon pure
One captive
— magic glance
(Dreamsleep: May, 2026)
Tranquil sea soaks the stardust,
sparkling sequins dance on waves.
Silver lattice spreads on satin beach
with effervescent pearls of rapture,
adorns my serene shore of soul.
Keening witches in the dunes
raven tresses gemmed with salt
crystal droplets twined in crowns.
Haunted chants ice the air
Boats sway on fragrant surf.
Ancient calling as dead stir
Bare shores greet ash flakes
Imprints etched of hidden souls
to engrave a memory shorn.
A golden mote grates
on dusky blue
portent of divine excellence
radiant white nestling
in the humble nook
honed by an oyster
who unveils prized secrets
of the deep
in shadowed places.
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