Beach Poems
Florida
by Elizabeth Bishop
The state with the prettiest name,
the state that floats in brackish water,
held together by mangrave roots
that bear while living oysters in clusters,
and when dead strew white swamps with skeletons,
dotted as if bombarded, with green hummocks
like ancient cannon-balls sprouting grass.
The state full of long S-shaped birds, blue and white,
and unseen hysterical birds who rush up the scale
every time in a tantrum.
......
Rondeau Redoublé
by Sophie Hannah
I know the rules and hear myself agree
Not to invest beyond this one night stand.
I know your patter: in, out, like the sea.
The sharp north wind must blow away the sand.
Soon my supply will meet your last demand
And you will have no further use for me.
I will not swim against the tide, to land.
I know the rules. I hear myself agree.
......
Bird Sanctuary
by Robert William Service
Between the cliff-rise and the beach
A slip of emerald I own;
With fig and olive, almond, peach,
cherry and plum-tree overgrown;
Glad-watered by a crystal spring
That carols through the silver night,
And populous with birds who sing
Gay madrigals for my delight.
Some merchants fain would buy my land
......
Out Of The Cradle Endlessly Rocking
by Walt Whitman
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of the mocking-bird's throat, the musical shuttle,
Out of the Ninth-month midnight,
Over the sterile sands and the fields beyond, where the child
leaving his bed wander'd alone, bareheaded, barefoot,
Down from the shower'd halo,
Up from the mystic play of shadows twining and twisting as
if they were alive,
Out from the patches of briers and blackberries,
From the memories of the bird that chanted to me,
......
Without You
by Adrian Henri
Without you every morning would feel like going back to work after a holiday,
Without you I couldn't stand the smell of the East Lancs Road,
Without you ghost ferries would cross the Mersey manned by skeleton crews,
Without you I'd probably feel happy and have more money and time and nothing to do with it,
Without you I'd have to leave my stillborn poems on other people's doorsteps, wrapped in brown paper,
Without you there'd never be sauce to put on sausage butties,
Without you plastic flowers in shop windows would just be plastic flowers in shop windows,
Without you I'd spend my summers picking morosley over the remains of train crashes,
Without you white birds would wrench themselves free from my paintings and fly off dripping blood into the night,
Without you green apples wouldn't taste greener,
......
Crystal Waterfall
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Translucent waterfall at the verge of the beach,
Natural sensation, drowsy summertime's peach,
Perpetually in motion, like the hands of a clock,
Terminating soon in a dazzling freshness shock!
Beautiful day scene, veiled in shades of green,
A sparkling jewel at sunset, or in gilded gleam,
And my heart will recollect, well after the sight,
Of cascading coldness rushing, resembling flight.
A Love Dream at the Beach
by Joseph Ogbonna
On a summer day I saw a pretty dame
bathing in the warm waves of the beach's tub.
She tanned her skin to adorn her slim frame,
massaging its softness with each gentle rub.
From that distance, she exuded sweet fragrance
stemming from the refining of her radiance.
Sensual movements from lips, hips, curves, legs and hands
made me fantasize as I relished each moment.
My love-struck eyes gazed at the rhythmic movement
of this scantily clad model for all lands.
......
The Coast of Colors
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
richly hued summer
lives along a golden stretch
blooms sky sand surf sun
spectrum changes hour to hour
dawn to dusk people laughing
bright swimsuits green youths
beachballs and ice cream flavors
fresh scent of blue sea
from far out where it meets sky
......
Afternoon Went Swimmingly
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
To the beach I went one hot, hot day,
In search of the cooling ice blue froth!
Refreshment beckoned in the sea spray,
And I lingered until skies turned mauve.
In search of the cooling ice blue froth,
I took a sunshine stroll to the beach,
And I lingered until skies turned mauve.
Often heart's desires are within reach.
......
Cherry Beach House
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Out where the blooming path comes to an end,
Along with wildflowers and Queen Anne's Lace,
A white sandy beach is waiting in the sunshine,
With a house so inviting at the day's primetime.
Seagulls are swooping and diving so endlessly,
Like the turquoise waves that come crashing in,
Before rushing back out to wild fathomless sea!
At the end of the beginning of gold midmorning,
It is noontime in the silent house of the sun.
Red butterflies are flittering on a soft breeze,
......
