We Watched from the Shore

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By Jane Hyphen

Mon, 05 Feb 2024
  • 1747 reads
18 comments
 

 

We watched from the shore,

is he really on board?

There’s no sign of him on land or sea

or yet behind this sealed sky.

He is behind our eyes,

as a song plays like a clock.

The anchor lifts, no heavier

than what we feel,

too deep for us to follow him

and what is left so shallow.

Sucked away are the warm waters

where he taught us to swim.

But the sun of his smile still shines 

and beneath it we are glowing.

 

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by airyfairy on

Very beautiful. "The sun of his smile..." Brought back memories for me.

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you airyfairy. I haven't written any poetry for a long time so it's lovely to receive pick of the day.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

This wonderful poem is our Facebook and X Pick of the Day. Please do share if you enjoy it too.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SunSet_At_Sea_-_panoramio.jpg

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

The last two lines are lovely. But am I right in thinking this is an occasion of scattering ashes? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Almost, it's inspired by the sudden and recent passing of someone we vaguely knew who was such a warm, friendly and giving person and his family trying to make sense of where he is now. I think the glow he gave them in life will continue. Thanks for reading, Rhiannon.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Read this seven times and still don't know what it is about, only that it is beautiful and steadying, filling the emptiness of loss with confidence

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you for your comment, Di. I really like it when a poem can be intepreted in different ways and especially that you found it steadying. I love that.

 

Submitted by Kris on

I like it & relate to it....

Poetry touches everyone differently, such is poetry..... IMO-perfect photo w/ this poem...

Read it several times, because, for me, I can smell the sea, & it reminds me of a search & rescue a few seasons back, that turned into a search & recovery of one of our own.... described perfectly, in the moment, fleeting & repeating in sunrise & sunset, captures those impression in words... (yesNice 1 Jane).... 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you for reading and your comment, Kris. I agree, the photo is perfect, thanks to editors. A search and rescue/recovery, hope and trauma, I can imagine the sunsets are very hard. 

 

Submitted by D G Moody on

Yes, I agree, it benefits from several readings and how one interprets it; for myself it reminded me of Crossing The Bar, which I recited once at a funeral; and of course - a lovely poem, congratulations Jane.

Dougie Moody

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you, Dougie. Crossing The Bar, yes, that's a heavy weight. I'm pleased that you got something out of reading mine.

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Forgot to leave a comment on this one yesterday. Beautifully done and very well deserved golden cherries, thank you Jane. I think ambiguous is a positive in almost all cases!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you Insert. I haven't written a poem in a while so I'm very happy it's been well received.

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

First reading, felt a loss of someone who touched hearts and the remembered moments at the end are the ones we keep. Second reading, I read it as searching, hoping someone would return. But both readings were profound with those last two lines. Bravo Jane! Well deserved Golden Cherries.  smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Hi Penny, thank you for sharing your interpretations. They are both relevant to how I felt writing it and I really appreciate your comment.

 

Submitted by celticman on

ah, you had me going there, I thought it was Jesus, but it was an old freind, much the same thing in some circles. 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

The big man in the sky or is that God? If you really want him, he shows up but for Jesus to agree to a cameo in one of my stories would need a miracle. 

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

This is our very beautiful Poem of the Week. Congratulations!