Sandcastles

 

While sifting through old photographs

Of childhood, black and white,

I came across a scene that stirred

My memory, overnight,

Three children by a sandcastle,

The finest ever made,

My sister, me and Hazel,

Made with bucket, and with spade,

With towers, crenellations

And surrounded by a moat,

The sand was dry, the tide was out

It stood there proud, remote.

 

Though sixty years have passed since then,

That camera shutter's sight

Caught just one random moment in

An afternoon's delight,

It froze that moment of our lives,

That castle on the sand,

And though the tide swept in that day

That castle, still it stands,

While we watched as the sands of time

Wrought havoc in our lives,

The moat we built could not protect

From husbands, or from wives.

 

The tide swept in and filled the moat,

The sides began to melt,

The water undermined the walls

And suddenly, they fell,

The love that we had built them with

Was washed right out to sea,

And left no sign of love behind,

For Hazel, Tess or me,

And then we learned the lesson

That our lives revolved around,

That nothing built will last unless

It's built on solid ground.

 

We spent our lives in dreaming

Building castles in the sand,

Believing that the tide would never turn

To wreck our plans,

We thought love was the answer

'Til discovering, too late,

That love swings on a pendulum,

The other end is hate,

And just as tides flow in and out

And level out the land,

The tides of life wreak havoc with

Our castles in the sand.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[B]

You brought tears to my eyes
I come from a family of three sisters and one brother
We build castles till this day and i am 31

I hope nothing washes away our solid grounds and our castles are not just built in sand

I couldn't ever bear departing from them
I have never loved anyone this much and never will

You are so beautiful with your words
Can't stop crying

[A love for poetry]

^_^ splendid!

[Amberway]

I loved this so much. The best I have ever read of yours.

[Dayran]

A light and breezy look at our preoccupations that entertains while it refreshes our view of these experiences. Quite a change from tall tales David, from a man who hasn't been building sandcastles in 60 years. Come on kiddo....what d'ya say....you get the shovel .... I've got the bucket..... there's always a beach somewhere.

No need to comment on the quality of the write .. it is very high as always .. loved it .

[Stanley Wilson]

Praa sands during the endless summers of childhood, loved this poem thanks for sharing

[de_maruf]

i just read
i have no dare to comment on your writing

[Kimberly "Melody" Carne..]

This was a most wonderful write on every level! Loved this to no end!

[Sheila Kline]

Those of us who have had the pleasure to build a sand castle must surely remember how much fun it was, how excited we were to see it, and then to feel the same level of sadness when the waters of the ocean rushed in and swept it away.....all the work gone in a few moments in time. You have captured the emotion of such in your poem as you speak of love, and of the hate as well, and of the realization that it is that which is built on a lasting foundation which shall survive the "tests" of time, the elements of life/nature, and to know that even love must be strong enough to survive all that comes to tear it down.
Your poem flows with wonderful rhythm, and the thoughts presented are those which shall surely remain alive for further conversation for many - including myself! I must be aware of the weaknesses of my castles in the sand, and work to strengthen them!!
This is perhaps the first piece of yours I have read, and I am impressed!! I shall be back to read more!!

[Rufus "Mr Blaque" Lacy,..]

Old pictures drum up so many memory, this was a wonderful poem to the past.

[MOON]

Beautiful write poignant stumbling on a photo and using it for the metaphor of life . Love the lines We thought love was the answer
'Til discovering, too late,
That love swings on a pendulum,
The other end is hate,
And just as tides flow in and out
And level out the land,
The tides of life wreak havoc with
Our castles in the sand.