Gore beach, NZ
Gore beach, New Zealand. Image by Bryn Parish, public domain.

Sea poems

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The sea

The sea as a seascape

In a frame over the dining table

The sea a forever moving element

Scary to seamen

When they face a storm

 

The sea as holiday background

Refreshing water on a tanned skin

Burnt by the sun

The sea an omnipresent blue

Continuation of the sky above

 

View of distant island across the sea
Grecian seascape. Image by Lito Seizani.

The pebble

Those shiny pebbles

Seemed to be covered by silver dust

I left them where I found them on the lovely beach

Didn’t put them in my pocket

As I would have done years ago

When memories used to matter

When an entire life was unfolding in front of me

And a certain longevity was predicted.

Back then I used to think that memories would be necessary

That’s why I would stroke the pebble

Feeling its rough surface on my skin

It would remind me of the beautiful strand

Of love, of friends who had been there with me

Through this pebble I’d reminisce of the island

Which had been so hospitable to us

 

Cairn on beach
Crete, Greece. Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer, public domain.

 

This time, however, there was no eternity for me

Nor even the illusion of one

Time had taken another dimension

After so many summers

After so many holidays spent on the isles of Greece

That’s why I left the silver pebble alone

For the next person to find it

They would surely need some amulet

They would surely need some romantic memories

I inspected the glittery stone for a while

And left it in the company of all the other pebbles

For the next person to find it

They would surely have some time to think of the past.

 

The jellyfish

“Beware of the jellyfish,” people told me

And as I was about to dive into the sea

I started scrutinizing the crystal-clear water

In terror and awe

I didn’t want my first swim of the season

My holidays of which I have been dreaming for so many years

I didn’t want them ruined by a brainless invertebrate

I didn’t want the end of a tentacle

Like a strand of Medusa’s curly hair

My innocent skin to electrocute

I just didn’t want to be touched by this monster

 

sunset over the ocean
Lazy summer sunset. Image by Jeremy Ricketts, public domain.

The sand

An endless sandy beach

On some Greek island

An ad for the tourist bureau

Promises endless happiness

Never-ending like the beach

Your holidays: just one perfect picture

 

Happiness and the sand

So hot under your skin

It makes your body shiver

What a strange kind of massage

It doesn’t ask you, it hugs you gently

A summer dream for all your senses

 

The sand. I never liked it

It felt strange under my feet

So unpleasant, it would stick to me

My idea of happiness is a coast of pebbles

On my favourite island of the Dodecanese

Others are welcome to enjoy the perfect sandy beach

 

Wave breaking, Durban, South Africa
Durban, South Africa. Image by Ronald Langeveld, public domain.

The wave

Just like one huge wave

Life will grab you unawares

It will toss your body upwards

And then will bring it out to the shore

 

Just like a wave you hadn’t seen coming

Life will appear to shake you

To drown you almost, to scare you

To cover you with foam

This quiet but dangerous wave

Will probably make you feel happy

 

As you lose control

As you faint helplessly

With no sense of direction

 

The wave of life is powerful, is beautiful

In all its glorious blue and white colours

The wave of life sounds almost like a poem

It leaves a salty taste in your mouth

And you go up and down

In the short moments of a lifetime

In the sad and happy moments

Within this one and only wave

 

LS 2022.

Lito Seizani contributes giving personal insights into being an every-day tourist. She is the author of "The Ideal Bench", which is available on Amazon.

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