Walk the Beach
Set crickets flying
from crabby grass and weeds
shimmering on the sandy foreshore.
Hop logs of driftwood forest
clamber over algae-green rock
tricky as black ice.
Crunch broken shells
jingle the shingle
always at an angle.
Spring-step spongy
blackened sea grass
squish onion bulbs of kelp.
Take off shoes
let soles read
Braille of wave-print sand.
© 2014 by Violet Nesdoly (all rights reserved)
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I sometimes still pinch myself, prairie transplant that I am, that I live near the ocean and the beach! As residents of the B.C.’s southwest corner for 30+ years, we’ve often indulged our fascination with the ocean by vacationing near it. The photos above were taken in the summer of 2012 on Saltspring Island and Vancouver Island beaches.
This post is part of Poetry Friday, hosted today by Carol and Carol’s Corner. (Thank you, Carol, for giving me the idea to post this poem with your beach poem!)
Violet Nesdoly 
OOOOOOOh, refreshing… I want to be there! Well written, I AM in dAWn E.
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Yes Dawn, me too!
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I’ll be doing all those things in just over week! Nicely done.
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Thanks Matt – and lucky you! Have fun.
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Ah, Violet – you and I love the same kind of beach! Driftwood, rocks, broken shells, and those “onion bulbs of kelp”…so beautiful! Thanks for sharing your poem.
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Julie, I think our beaches in this part of Canada are similar to yours near Seattle — undeveloped and beautiful!
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Violet, I enjoyed viewing the pictures before reading the poem. Last stanza was well said. My poem was submitted late but hopefully will be posted.
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Thank you, Carol! I have so many pictures from our visits to the beach, it’s hard to pick a few. I’ll look forward to reading your poem in the next hours!
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lovely – my favourite pastime
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Thanks Kiwiskan. I would love to see your New Zealand beaches. The photos from your blog attest to what a beautiful place it is!
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…all beaches are beautiful. Thanks Violet
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Beautifully shown, Violet. I am envious of your time on the beach. I’ll be on one end of July, & now you’ve made me want it more!
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July will be here before we know it, Linda. Anticipation is a lot of fun too. Are you visiting a coastal beach or a beach at a lake somewhere?
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Fabulous poem, Violet. So many fun aspects, I love the braille metaphor.
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Thanks Catherine! I was looking for a photo with inviting wave prints on it, but they are few and far between in my files. There’s nothing like hard ripply sand underfoot that reads Summer, is there?!
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And those sand worms
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Hi, Violet. What a fun collage. And the sounds in this stanza are delicious:
Crunch broken shells
jingle the shingle
always at an angle.
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Oh, lovely! Living by the ocean is a dream for me….
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What a beachy Poetry Friday we’re having! Love “Take off shoes/let soles read/Braille of wave-print sand.” I’m so ready….
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I love that you’ve structured this as a list of instructions. It helps me feel like I’m there too.
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What great sensory details and diction. Love reading this one aloud! “Squish onion bulbs of kelp”: wonderful!
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This is just to say that I have been here and read your words, but surgery on both thumbs last Tuesday prevents me from typing a personalized comment. Forgive me — copy/paste is the best I can do this week! 🙂
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Oh Mary, so sorry to hear this! Get better fast. And thanks for coming by to copy-paste.
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Your poem makes this land-locked sea lover long for beach time. I will be there next Friday, but with 60 middle schoolers, I’m thinking there will be a lot more splashing than walking!
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Oh my, my sympathies! I’m sure it will be a lot of fun too… if you don’t count on a lot of down-time for yourself.
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Those are indeed beautiful photographs. I was at the beach with my family a few weeks back and your poem brings me right back to that beautiful time. 🙂
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Thanks for this walk along the beach. The sounds and smells come alive in your poem. Your beach is very different from the Gulf coast. I’m looking forward to a trip to Seattle in July.
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Thanks Margaret! I hope you enjoy the west coast beaches. I’d love to see the ones along the Gulf coast! Maybe someday.
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