Waves roll in classical form

And clap thunderously upon the shore in foam

As frothy fingers reach up onto the pebbled beach

Ancient Cyclopian Ocean spreads out in long curled tentacles

To grab and carry in its rebounding wake 

Small creatures and things sitting

Carelessly upon the sand

The waves do not stop

Their rolling assaults upon the land

But withdraw again and again to gather their strength

As the sea renews its unending efforts in a timeless siege

And the land rebuts and yields just a little bit

Being always slow to admit

Final defeat

Small

Precarious creatures

Stand upon the edges of this strange encounter

Caught between the battle of the land and sea

The sea grabs and holds them by the legs

As the sand disappears beneath

 Their curious little feet

Ancient

Foreboding sea dragons

Emerge upon the sun-glint surface

Of some deeply writhing fragments of nature

Sea dreams beckoning and betokening

Dark mysterious things

Just Beneath

With pounding fists

Mighty crashing waves

Continue their ceaseless roll

And with defiant out-stretched hands

The land continues to take

Its countless toll

Just

Yesterday

I held you in my arms

As you beheld a boundless horizon

Our paths have suddenly parted

Just beyond my reach

Only yesterday

Swept far away

Forever our tomorrow 

A tragic, senseless sorrow

An empty, fathomless fate

To be lost under the wave's wake

The waves reach upon many distant lands

As we stretch out our many different hands

Seasons

Odd Ends: Perennial Poesy along the Way

2005