Short Riptides Poems

riptides

sneaky undertows
 drags black sand back into waves ~
  sea hawks sound alarms

4/3/23
Contest: A New Nature Themed Haiku
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin...

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riptides

sneaky undertows
 drags black sand back into waves ~
  sea hawks sound alarms

4/3/23
Contest: A New Nature Themed Haiku
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin...

Read More

“she mused
while fondly touching his chair
his scent lingers”


death
riptides
my love gone
why was he first
love

ills
senile
my promise
sent home to wait
love

Sep 2011 Charles Henderson
for Nettes Lantern contest...

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Waves crash on the shore
Seashells dot the sand galore
Loud sounds of a seagulls gull
Riptides that pull and pull
Sand Castles Big and High
A beatifull sunset ignites the sky
Sounds of all the jumping fish
Little girls who make a wish
...

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Candle wax drips calcified tears, 
riptides of dreams burst boundaries;
Drops become circles never squares;
Out of the box locked in a freeze
with rough edges it aims to please;
There’s no hiding their benefit,
claws can rip apart arteries;
That’s the magick of a misfit.
...

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Red flags flying o'er the beach,
Warning of danger beneath gulf waves;
A seagull glides by with a screech.
Red flags flying o'er the beach,
Riptides pull you out of reach,
And lifeguards cannot always save.
Red flags flying o'er the beach,
Warning of danger beneath gulf waves.

8/14/19...

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Somedays, the tide only laughs
at the sandbags we put up. 
When the ocean of emotion
breaks with waves above our hearts,
we swim or drown. 

The swell of current overrides
and riptides pull us down. 
Move parallel to shore against the tide
till firmer ground is found. 
Swim. 

4/6/14...

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I’m drowning in the waves... 
The grave riptides that are my past relationships are scattered...
The sunken graveyard of broken, 
beaten, 
blackened, 
and battered ships with dark smoke stacks 
that billow the past, used-up souls up up and away discharge the bodies under 
as they cannot pass through to ethereality....

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‘Life is a beach and sometimes you fry’

Sun-crested waves meander towards castles in sand from our high hopes of flow
teasing our scorched driftwood channelling waters caressing high tides and low
sun burn riptides and undertow rally trust in the life guards’ experience of sinking
request a hatful of hope and emotion a sunscreen of love and reorganised thinking

4th September 2016...

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Floating on the abyss
Or am I engulfed, drowning, dying in deep waters?
I gasp for air attached to your lips
Fluid fills my lungs as I struggle to breathe
The wind lifts my soul to heavenly happiness
Or am I drowning in poisonous seas?
Whistles and harps of sweet, gentle tales
Pounding pressure as I try gasp
Songs of angels as our souls swirl
Or is it wails of riptides dragging me down to hell?...

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dolphin sweeps ocean

surfs tidal animation -

holds every moment


travels crested tides

dives in swirling riptides -

guides aspirations



she holds breathless dreams 

lungs fill with hopeful rescue -

for me when I drown


exhales communion

captures essence and feeling -

joins reason and faith


jumps high in the air

leads by flying example -

lifts drowning spirits


28 th May 2020...

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While no colors
Tinge over my skin
Your sepia eyes
Ink tattooed
Upon my spirit
Under sleeve…

A beauty so steadfast
Breathless
Innocence awash
Across heavy riptides
Dancing within
Truculent waves

Bartering dawn for dusk
Warmth for solitude
Aching to hold that gaze
Only momentarily
Touching a delicate taste
Of fiery gossamer 

No ink stains
Illustrating you and I
Only beauty of yesterday
Ever imprinted
On who I once was
Tattooed…...

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Storms Acrostic
Strong winds surprise.
Treacherous riptides stir.
O ff ramps spree.
R are rainstorms trigger.
Major rainstorms cause.
S evere hardships marvel.

 S trong winds stir.
 T reacherous riptides sleet.
 Off ramps sphere.
 R are rainstorms result.
 M ajor rainstorms occur.
 S evere hardships sweep.

7/26/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2021©...

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I dwell on this sandbar. 
Between the shallows and the deep.
So free and yet so oppressed.
But during the rarest of moments
I truly know that I am blessed.

Do I make for the mainland.
Facing riptides of salt and teeth.
Or wade through sharpened coral hearts.
onto that cay of stagnant familiarity.

I tend to teeter toward the shallow.
but there are pools so blue -so deep.
So why do I ride this burning sandbar?
It's out of fear I tend to think....

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Life is like river
with a constant flow
death dealer and life giver
in its murky waters we grow
not much of a forgiver
cold riptides can drag you below
but be strong and don't shiver

the current is worth fighting
more then you know...

love and hate both in its quiver
life can take a turn as it bows
not much of a forgiver
learn to roll with its blows
no one knows whats downriver
and only time shows

Just remember...
life is like a river
it constantly flows...

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In an instant the tide has changed
The warm ocean breeze has turned frigid
The ocean... believing I could walk upon it
I now can barely keep my head above it
I am waiting while I'm wading 
For my feet to be set firmly on shore
In the meantime, I accept my fingers will wrinkle
I'm prepared for the riptides to challenge me
But I will not drown...
Not today...
Not tomorrow...
I am waiting while I'm wading
For the day when my feet are set firmly on shore...

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