“Swept by Surprise to Moonlit Shores”

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Swept by Surprise to Moonlit Shores

Is there a weeping too deep
for the knowing,
when beauty seeps into the open
pores of the soul,
descends to the ocean floors
of our breathing,
swept by surprise to moonlit shores
by irregular tides —

Beauty astounds,
ruffles the colors of the corals,
disrupts the nettled pearling
of the oysters,
arrests
the wanderings of hermit crabs,
the tapestral flowering of anemones
upon the glaucous-velvet rocks —

Underneath, where it is very deep,
the blinding light dazzles,
it reaches upwards
to interminable heights,
from the tide pool to the far distance
where ancient stars blossom
incandescent pink —

Tell me,
are there waters warm enough,
is there salt enough
to mold the tears that fall
from the wonder of it all?

by D. G. Vachal © 2013

Author’s Note:  My allusion to looking from the tide pool to the stars is inspired by  John Steinbeck’s words in his book “Log of the Sea of Cortez: “It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool again.”

*** Image by Luis Argerich @ Flickr Commons

34 thoughts on ““Swept by Surprise to Moonlit Shores””

  3. Well, I could go on and on – but I think you know you’ve done good work here; very good work. So instead I will ask you a personal question – were you alone or was someone with you when you took this all in? And then that leads to another question, were you there or simply missing this place and so did homage to it in words?

    Reply ↓

    • Thank you Sandy. Your questions make me smile — I was alone when I took this all in; I was there in my childhood days into my teens, especially at sunset, at low tide, when I would walk among the corals, sea anemones and other tiny sea creatures and delight in their colors and vibrant motions. And yes, I am missing this place. You read my heart. 🙂

      Reply ↓

  5. O, Dee……….is there a place far enough that it would not pull against the tides of the heart – a moon of distance, a sand too hot to hold our longing? Always, you make my heart jump with emotion and feeling. Regardless the reason, I know that I will always follow each reading with the same thought, ‘o, I wish I had written that’………. Love you, my beautiful friend. ~ Always you inspire us. ~ Bobbie

    Reply ↓

    • O Bobbie… I am just privileged to be able to find the words to express the universal awe and wonder in the presence of life, and of light, and of beauty.. these words here are but a puny effort to paint such magnificence. Always I am uplifted with joy at the sound of your words… love you, my ethereal, lovely friend… Dee

      Reply ↓

  6. Reading these words reminded me of my youth when I went diving among the corals – long before pollution and soil erosion set in. What wondrous colours, what spellbinding beauty – the dancing sunlight cutting through the shallows and lighting up seabed and coral life.

    A beautiful poem wrought by a talented artist. Thank you, Dee.

    All good wishes,
    Eric

    Reply ↓

    • It’s wonderful to know that you, too, had the same experiences of enjoying the splendor of sea life as a child.
      Your descriptions are so beautifully poetic —“the dancing sunlight sunlight cutting through the shallows and lighting up seabed and coral life”.
      I can see the scenery so vividly in my mind’s eye.

      Thank you for your lovely comment, Eric.

      Best wishes,
      Dee

      Reply ↓

  9. This is beautiful and captures well the absolutely wonderful effect that the beauty of God’s creation can have on someone (like it does on me). Thank you for these lovely words.

    Reply ↓

    • Dear Debbie, that these words evoked such feelings in you is very humbling. Thank you for sharing your insightful words about beauty — indeed pointing to the incident at the Gate Beautiful. I think the magnificence lies in the thoughts and experience emanating from the reader of these words. Blessings, Dee

      Reply ↓

  15. I am swept by this poem! Lovely words! 🙂

    “Underneath, where it is very deep,
    the blinding light dazzles,
    it reaches upwards
    to interminable heights,
    from the tide pool to the far distance
    where ancient stars blossom
    incandescent pink —” — my favorite part!

    Reply ↓

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