By the Sea

I had only
Just begun to unfold
The summer’s softness
Cotton colored sunshine
Ready to slip into
My jelly shoes
Still gritty with sand
From that beach I loved

I remember the old ladies there
Smiled at me
And waved
Their old skin flagging
Like banners
Beneath their arms

They had treasures
Porches with rocking chairs
Antiqued with sea spray
And the kind of beautiful friends
Who remembered them
From before their faces
Grew long and gray
With the years

I stopped to marvel at them
But never went to tea

And now, these thousands of miles away
I still remember

It comes to me with the snow
The smell of warm, wet wood
Sprawled out on the boardwalk
Eyes closed tight
Face up to the sun
The sound of gulls echoing in my ears

And the old ladies
I still see them waving

My lungs fill with salty air
My face begins to warm
Under an imaginary sun
And I cry for the memory of it

I wish I had gone to tea
Just the once.

Reviews

[KAOlmsted]

Reminiscence can be such a lovely muse. I grew up in New York, and lived in Connecticut...this reminded me so much of the New England beaches I love so much to this very day. No matter where I go, which water I find myself near (I have lived in Seattle; on an island in Alaska; and now Pensacola) the beaches of New England are among my favorites, and I have met my share of those darling old women. Beautiful write, Jenny; just lovely. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

-kimmer

[JennyinCO]

Thank you, Kimmer. It was inspired by a visit to Ocean Grove, NJ. It is such a lovely little town, with old Victorian houses lining the shore. I never really saw any old ladies who waved to me, but it seemed to me that I should have, so imagined it in a poem. That's one of the things. Love about writing - you can make right those things which are askew - dream of wholeness where there are only fragments. It soothes the discontented sole, and releases the inner idealist in a way that real life could not.

[JennyinCO]

And by the way, i hate spellcheck - and even more that I cannot edit my comments to correct errors

[KAOlmsted]

My pleasure. You captured the scene beautifully, really. Sorry you never got to meet any of the old ladies, they have amazing tales to tell...if you listen ;-) Thanks again. I really loved this piece.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh wow...this is a fantastic poem...

i saw the regret coming at the end...if only once i had gone to tea...that which i made fun of in mind...and said never would i go there...i think too, the regret could stem from knowing that we might all get there someday.

the second stanza..."their old skin flagging like banners beneath their arms"

that is one of those..."i wish i would have come up with that line" lines.

great piece...makes me definitely want to read more of your work.

jacob

[quinfinn]

i imagine you will go to tea when you retire in sunny Florida or wherever that may be, and the beautiful young people whom you invite to tea will , of course, never follow through on the invitation...or will they? i love this write. it really does transport one there and has a regretful fondness which is captivating. simply wonderful!

[JennyinCO]

Thank you. I doubt i will ever leave Colorado, though, as it has become my home through and through. I do hope to able to visit the beach from time to time. My husband and I took a trip to Cozumel last year, and it was so incredibly hypnotic to sit at breakfast and stare into the moving horizon. I think we sat in silence together on that trip more than we had in our entire marriage.

[quinfinn]

turbulent and ever shifting, there is something calm and mesmerizing about the ocean. i spent many years of my life near the ocean and rivers in eastern virginia, now i have found the majesty, peace and power of the mountains in N carolina...and will live out my days here.

[Frieda P]

Oh I absolutely love this! Spent most of the summer in Silver Beach, I can smell the saltl air just reading this. What a calming, and pleasureable read, better than valium. :-)

[JennyinCO]

Oh, thank you! You are so kind - I just love that my catharsis can be calming to others, too!

[Frieda P]

Just read what you wrote to The kimmer, Ocean Grove is lovely...
Holding a conch shell up to my ear :-) welcome

[Jack...]

This is a very warm and embracing piece. I could hear the surf dancing upon the shore as I read this and pictured the old ladies in their wide brimmed straw hats and large sunglasses watch the day go by. Very nicely done.

[JennyinCO]

Thank you fir taking the time to read this, Jack. Writing can be a lonely exercise, as I am sure you know. I have volumes of poems scattered about the house, locked in old computers, trapped in boxes from my childhood home in NJ. It is wonderful to meet again the writer in me, after seven years of being "Mommy." I think I should write about that...

[JennyinCO]

Oops, for

[Jack...]

Ok, now I am curious, where was your childhood home in N.J.?

[JennyinCO]

Teaneck

[Jack...]

I grew up in Glassboro

[JennyinCO]

Small world. Blessings to you, Jack!