Every day the sea
blue gray green lavender
pulls away leaving the harbor's
dark-cobbled undercoat
slick and rutted and worm-riddled, the gulls
walk there among old whalebones, the white
spines of fish blink from the strandy stew
as the hours tick over; and then
far out the faint, sheer
line turns, rustling over the slack,
the outer bars, over the green-furred flats, over
the clam beds, slippery logs,
barnacle-studded stones, dragging
the shining sheets forward, deepening,
pushing, wreathing together
wave and seaweed, their piled curvatures
spilling over themselves, lapping
blue gray green lavender, never
resting, not ever but fashioning shore,
continent, everything.
And here you may find me
on almost any morning
walking along the shore so
light-footed so casual.
~Mary Oliver
Another good one. Makes me feel as if I am right by the water's edge.
ReplyDeleteTi, this poem is exactly what I see on the Oregon coast. The beaches here are so unlike the ones I spent many a summer on while growing up in San Diego.
DeletePerfect photo to illustrate this wonderful poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. It's near Moolack Beach in Oregon, about 15 minutes from where I live.
DeleteLove the photo and the poem!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vicki!
DeletePerfect photo for the poem. All those in the western areas could all use the seashore right now! Hoping today might be the last day of the heat wave .... it's suppose to decrease from like 97 to 87 degrees tomorrow. But interior BC has had much worse heat, ugh! And now there's a fire ... in Lytton ... we can't breathe here if there are fires west of us! let's hope the fires go out ..... fingers crossed this ends
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan! Yes, I am ready to be back home on the Oregon coast. We've been in California for a month now and it's been very hot the entire time! It's not quite as hot as earlier in the week, but it's nowhere near the mid-60s, which is what it is at home. We're down about 10 degrees in our current location, but it looks like it will get back up into the triple digits for the remainder of our stay. I just read the news about Lytton, which is so sad! There are a few fires in Northern CA, but not too close to be a concern. We can see smoke in the distance, but the wind is blowing in the opposite direction, so we should be fine.
DeleteSuch a beautiful poem, and a wonderful photo! Do you walk the beach often? We're about seven miles from St. George Island here in North Florida—a gorgeous white sand beach on the Gulf. It's so different from our Oregon beaches. I love both. Thanks for keeping me connected to Oregon. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laurel. You know, when we moved to Oregon, I thought I'd walk on the beach several times a week. However, in order to get to any sandy beach, I need to drive about 15 minutes south to reach one that I can easily access. Instead, I walk though the forest in our neighborhood or along the ocean path (also in our neighborhood). Maybe I'll start getting out more to walk on the sand now that it's summer and not so windy and chilly out near the shoreline. I'll bet you miss Oregon! We've been in California for about a month and it's been so HOT! We'll be home next week and I'm looking forward to cooler temps.
DeleteYou chose the perfect picture to go with that lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen. The photo was taken just north of Newport, OR. Sure would love to dip my feet in that cold water right about now!
DeleteWhat a beautiful poem. I love the description of the water and the repetition of the line. Goes perfect with your photo!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Iliana. I enjoy getting comments on these poetry posts as they allow me to go back and reread the poem. I discover something new with each reading.
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