Shifting Sands

Gold cherry
Poem of the week

By Ray Schaufeld

Mon, 19 Mar 2018
  • 7130 reads
21 comments
 

 

The ebb the flow, the stay the go upon the shifting sands

The ebb the flow the yes the no the water and the land

I blew in on an August wind and some of it went to plan but I didn’t have one

The ebb the...

 

Prettiness not splendour

Pleasure but not rapture

Festival and carnival and fireworks to bright the dull

Seventies and eighties fancy dress and shops that sell it.

Fish and chips, Cornish pasty, cream tea

‘If you’re a Devon dumpling do you put jam or cream

On your scone and do you call it a scone or a scone?’

Who cares?

Christmas run into the sea, not me

But my daughter's little pink costume

And smile beneath her dripping locks

Are pictured in the paper.

'Pretty as a picture'

We’re pretty as a picture here.

 

The ebb the flow the yes the no upon the shifting..

I flew in on a broken wing and –

What now, where to?

 

Small town small views

Old cat comes back home – front page news.

And we yakk on about crime when there’s next to none.

And we rage against change

Rage against change our local faith and passion.

And yes it’s sometimes done wrong and for the wrong reasons

And money reaches the wrong hands

But the sea wears down the rock, wears to a

Slippy seaweedy boulder, a moving pebble

To the warm grains beneath my summer feet.

 

Old cat comes back home

Pretty as a picture.

And we’re pretty and resilient as iron age candyfloss

And all our votes turn trueblue tory

We’re a libdem town in a toryocracy constituency

And he holds on fast like a bilge-clad barnacle.

 

The ebbs the stay the plans the ifs the buts the maybes.

 

I sit in Harbour View, pot of tea for one

And I stare out to sea.

And the sea tells me –

Nothing!  it’s sodding water.

 

Brexmouth or Remain?

 

These I shall miss –

Pot of tea for one at Harbour View

Quiz night at the Railway Club

Old man bands rocking their sounds

And my friends, my friends who I don’t tell

That I help a Syrian family with their English homework

Because I don’t want the featherweight yes or no votes

Of people who only know England and

Whose ancestors only know England.

Yeh I’m unfair to my friends with their sometimes small views

And their mainly big hearts.

 

And perhaps after 18 years

Exmouth is my friend now

Not the friend for a week and wow!

Wasn’t that great friend

But the friend who I take for granted

The friend who is there for me

The friend who knows me outside in and inside out.

 

And if I go and going does not work out –

 

Old cat pads on home

Certificate U
Poem
Exmouth - It's the South West's Best Kept Secret
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by airyfairy on

Elsie, this is brilliant.  Was this one of the pieces you were going to do at the Slam?  I can hear you performing it as I read. 

So many good things - the way you evoke decision/indecision with the ebb and flow, wonderful phrases like the friends with 'their sometimes small views and their mainly big hearts', and the beautifully judged anti-climax of '...and the sea tells me - Nothing!  It's sodding water' - made me laugh out loud.  And the image of the cat, finding its way home.

This is one of my favourites of yours.  A great read.

The bit about the scones reminded me of a recent item on the Today programme about some advertising campaign for Devon tourism being Twittered to death because the photo showed the cream on the scone before the jam, or vice versa, and they actually had some woman in to confirm which was the Devon and which was the Cornwall way.  Up here, we mash it all in together.  We're Yorkshire, us.  Just give us the grub.

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Yes Airy, this is my Slam piece. Teignmouth Slam was cancelled because of snow so I am reading it at ExeterTake the Mic this Wednesday.

Thanks eds for the cherries xx

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Some glimpses at the years' ups and downs, the 'keeping going', the enjoyment of excitement, but having a realisitc view of it, the putting down roots in a community you see the weaknesses of, but also appreciate the acceptance and steadiness of the place and people you know. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Yes, Rhiannon, that sums a lot of it up, thanks for reading and commenting.

Submitted by Ewan on

really good. As good as anything on the site.
Well done.

Ewan.

Author Page at the 'Zon
 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Elsie,

just loved reading this piece, especially the bit about:-

Festival and carnival and fireworks to bright the dull

Seventies and eighties fancy dress and shops that sell it.

Fish and chips, cornish  pasty, cream tea

'If you're a Devon dumpling do you put jam or cream

on your scone, or a scone?'

Who cares?

My nan used to call jam and cream on scones, thunder and lightening. Funny how certain memories stick out. Oh how I love those memories of cornish pasties and fish and chips out of newspaper.

See how you've conjured up so many of my own memories.

As I said you've touched mine. 

Thank you.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

thanks Ewan for your praise and thanks Jenny for reading and giving me something new. 'thunder and lightening'smiley

Submitted by torscot on

Hello elsie      re  the  Harbour View I thought that was to be closed down?  

Shame about missing he Teignmouth Poetry Slam.   I was there a few weeks back to see the movie 

" The Mercy"   End of the front row,  neck ache and a bad squint

Kind regards

 

 

torscot

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Enjoyed this so much Elsie! Affectionate but not fairy tale account of your "home" town. Shows you don't have to write something ostensibly deep and difficult to show the poet's thought deeply. And I liked the sodding water bit too.

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Wow - this one's been very popular - I hope you get a similar reception for it at the slam! It's a great piece and I would love to hear it (I'm sure others would too). Is there any chance you could do a recording and put a link to it on here?

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Thanks for your comments my friends. When I teach myself how to record my work yes I will put a link up, I'm a techno-wuss, need to get over it! Torscot, East Devon District Council keeps giving Harbour View yet another short lease, I think they are safe till the end of August. 'Rage against change' yes, with this seafront cafe, change would be pointless, everyone likes it, including the gulls but we know to eat our chips in the indoor bit and the same family has been running it for about 40 years. The rest of the seafront it's anyone's guess when the finished product will emerge and if it will make money.

Submitted by airyfairy on

This gem of a poem has obviously struck a chord with many readers - and it's our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!  Please do share/retweet if you've enjoyed it too.

Picture:  Author's own.

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Thanks for picking it smiley

Submitted by seashore on

Love this. Makes me nostalgic for Exmouth & surrounds. Still I now have Brighton instead...very different. But I like it.

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Thanks for great comment. I've not been to Brighton for a long time, loved the Pavilion.

Submitted by airyfairy on

This has struck a chord with many readers - and it's our Poem of the Week!  Congratulations!

Submitted by london_calling79 on

That gear change at the end of the first verse...can hear it resound. Stunning imagery.

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Many thanks for your good comment London Calling. Poem of the Week - cheers eds, great surprise.smiley

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

BTW I have now changed 'mossy boulder' to slippy seaweedy boulder. My boyfriend who worked in gardening for over 35 years told me that moss does not grow on boulders washed by the sea. 'What's the green stuff then?' I asked 'Algae.' And if they are out to sea then seaweed is washed on top.smiley

Submitted by hudsonmoon on

I’d love to hear you do this, as well, Elsie. 

. . . my friends with their sometimes small views

And their mainly big hearts.

This hit home with me, especially in this age of Trump  Dinosaur Age I’m thinking. This was lovely and will be a favorite of mine from you.

Rich xx

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Thanks. Here in Merrie England we don't have Trump dinosaur. Our political leaders are like a bunch of yappy little dogs snapping at each other's ankles. Wishing you a good Easter xx