The sea by night is a beast of a different nature
Sinuously moving around the harbour wall
A snake, a boa, suffocating granite barricades.
It slips and mounts like a lover
Crashes home, then silent, waits.
An enemy, a mystery, oily, oleaginous,
Creeping deeper than fate.
In innocence boats rise and fall, as if sleeping.
Starlight sparkles and the town lights play
On the animal, roaring, angry.
An invisible power fading into black.
A void, a maw, the sea by night.
I really like 'creeping deeper than fate'.
hi Ann ..hope you remember me after my long absence from wol ! I think this poem is so good and i really enjoyed it as it captures the imagination and the pic fits it well...xx bernie
So enjoyed this. I was imagining Mousehole harbour. You conjoured up the sea at night perfectly. X
Thanks guys - I've changed it a bit at the end. Inspired by being on St Ives harbour wall (Smeaton's Pier) last year in the dark with a rough sea at my feet.
Philipos
Fri 24th Jun 2011 15:27
Hi Ann lots of pleasing images here - agree withy Greg's comment about the last line etc. Interesting that you should refer to the sea as a beast I always think of it as awesome. Nice poem.
Some great lines in this Ann, but not sure about those last two.
'suffocating granite barricades...oily, oleaginous'
lovely!
There are lots of great lines in this, Ann. Well-observed, like it a lot. You maybe don't need the last line at all. Unless you expanded it, and wrote a verse about the sea by day as well. "Half a poem ..." at the moment, as you say?
Maybe only half a poem here - and the last line is a bit rubbish.
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Ann Foxglove
Sat 25th Jun 2011 16:13
Thanks all - and wow! Steve! So lovely to hear from you. And thanks for your truly appreciated comment. I know nature poems are not everyone's cup of tea. But I think I care about the natural world more than I care about anything.