The waves roar in then slink back toward the source
Might and muse, hope and horror, joy and loss
Mingle amidst the moon and sun with force.
I walk barefoot on the sand wet and coarse
My breath caught along with the seaside spray
The waves roar in then slink back toward the source.
Source of our beginning, blue and porous
Feel the light of love, dawn of ecstasy
Mingle amidst the moon and sun with force.
This mist of sanctity I thus endorse
A place that soothes as the weary soul rests
The waves roar in then slink back toward the source.
Worries dissolve as I release remorse
My stride strengthens and lengthens soon and I
Mingle amidst the moon and sun with force.
Dolphins appear and add to my discourse
To join the ocean’s call toward harmony
The waves roar in then slink back toward the source
Mingle amidst the moon and sun with force.
Nature does sooth soul in it’s own mystic way. Thank you so much for sharing such beautiful exhibition of nature through your skillful usage of words! According to your convenience please do read some of my writings would love to know what you think about them 😊
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Sometimes we realize that to find the answers we’re searching for, all we need to do is go back to nature’s source. Thanks so much for reading my poem and commenting.
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Pleasure was all mine & yes nature is spiritually divine in itself ☺️
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Nature love ❤️
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YES!
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A lovely poem, Pam. The repetition works very well.
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Thanks for enjoying my poem, Robbie. First time I’ve tried a villanelle. I like having a structure to work with. xo
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Lovely, Pam. I feel the same about the ocean. There’s something about the sight, smell and feel that makes everything right in the world. ❤
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No matter what our troubles are, if we walk along the beach, they evaporate with the power of Nature. Happy weekend, Jill. I just watched two hummers duke it out at my feeder. Feisty little creatures. 🙂
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A lovely villanelle, Pam. I love hearing the sound of the ocean, and walking there, in the early morning when no one else is around, is extra special. I’m glad you got to enjoy that.
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I even set the alarm, on vacation, just to make sure I was up and out before anyone else in the household. Then I enjoyed my hour of solitude as the sun rose and the ocean hummed and purred. Hope you have chance to walk along the NJ shore before summer is over, Merril.
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We took one walk there in June, but it wasn’t at dawn. 🙂
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Haha. Well, I highly recommend it. 🙂
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oh i like it. The repetition was great.
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Thank you! The waves seemed to lead me to the Villanelle structure, and the rhythm works!
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I love this villanelle, Pam! The form, and your use of it, work perfectly with the repetition of the waves on the seashore and your inner search for harmony and peace.
I would love to link this to my next poetry invitation post, which is scheduled for September 7. Please let me know if you’d like me to link it. 🙂
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I’d love to be part of your poetry post on September 7. Thanks for enjoying and walking along with me. Yes, I lucked out writing this in villanelle form – perfect complement to the ocean’s rhythmic waves.
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Great, Pam! I’ll add the link now for the 9/7 post. I agree that the villanelle was the perfect poetic form for this poem. 🙂
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I miss being near the ocean. There’s a nice swoosh and sway to the water that is soothing. Your poem conveys that idea beautifully.
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Swoosh and sway says it so well alliteratively. I only get to the ocean a couple of times a year, and when I do, my entire body/soul relaxes into that swoosh and sway.
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I’ve lived on or close to the ocean for the past 30 years of my life—couldn’t imagine not being able to be near that blue expanse every day! Your beautiful poem captured the essense. Thanks!
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You ARE lucky, to always have the ocean nearby. That would be my choice, for sure. So glad my poem caught some of the seashore essence that we love so much.
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May your stride continue to lengthen and strengthen. Sometimes it takes a while before we relax into the blue underwater leaping dolphin magic and truly hear the sonar messsages they keep gently sending. xoxoxo
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Hmmm, me thinks you’re also talking about lengthening and strengthening the soul’s journey, which I seem to do when I walk along the ocean’s edge, Kathy. Dolphin magic helps. Sonar messages weave in and out of those waves. ❤
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🙂
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A beautiful poem Pam, the words touch my heart. Thank you !
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So glad you read and enjoyed my poem, Gerlinde, perhaps from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean from where I wrote this!
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Lovely poem and rhymes Pamela. It was fun to visit the sea with you! 🙂
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You’re welcome to join me on my sea-walks anytime, Brad. 🙂
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Ha, ha. Thank you. I will and I still miss being near the sea. 🙂
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We live about 15 miles from a similar sight along the Atlantic. “The waves roar in then slink back toward the source,” you say. And I say “slink back” is the perfect description for the receding tide. Marvelous!
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Thank you Marian, I say enviously. To have the ocean only 15 miles away – a dream. I imagine you get these “soul walks” (my new word), often. xo
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You’ve caught the power of nature in your poem, Pam. Well done. I like the sound of “stride strengthens and lengthens.”
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Many thanks, Anneli. I know your life is surrounded by the importance and power of the sea. xo
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I can’t imagine living far from it.
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BTW, I love the photo in your header. Did you take that picture on your latest trip to the beach?
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I did take that photo! Thanks for noticing my header – I always love seeing what header you use on your blog- your photography is wonderful. I took this shot toward the end of one of my hour-long morning walks – probably around 8 a.m., and I watched the shorebirds run up and down the shoreline with glee.
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I love it. I can almost feel the breeze and smell the salt air. I will have to look around for a new header myself. Oh, the pressure!!!
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I’ll keep checking for the new one. 🙂 No pressure, of course.
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Having just returned from our annual family beach retreat, your reflections of the shore and the restorative peace prevail. It will not last the year, must return soon!
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Lucky you – a family beach retreat! I wonder what beach. Yes, restorative peace is received when by the sea. May you be able to return soon! ❤
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The cadence of your poem mirrors the ocean’s tides. 😀
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The sea cadence was a sweet surprise when I finished the poem, using (for the first time) the villanelle structure. Ahhhhh. Thanks, Nancy.
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SO VERY LOVELY, PAM! ♥♥♥
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Tides full of thanks, Billy Ray. xoxo
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What a wonderful poem, and such a perfect choice of poetic form for this theme. The repetition is indeed like the waves that come and go and form a powerful natural rhythm that soothes and inspired, just like your poem – beautiful! 🙂 Love, Harula xx
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Compliments from a gifted poet as yourself make me blush, Harula. Thanks. ❤
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You have beautifully captured the charm of ocean Pam. Your words transported me to the shore to sing with the waves. Love it more when I re-read it. Thank you for making my morning so pleasant. 🙂
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I have found that re-reading this villanelle (and probably most villanelles) adds to the pleasure of the rhythmic peace, also, Balroop. I’m so glad you enjoyed – being the amazing poet that you are. xo
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Beautiful Pamela. Your words, photographs and video are all soothing for the Soul. 🌼
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Ahhhhh, so glad my villanelle sooths. I’ll admit, it soothed me as I wrote it to the cadence of the ocean. xo
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Nice, Pamela. 😀
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Many thanks, John.
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Nice! But I was so hoping you’d find a way to include “horse” in your rhyme scheme. 🙂
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But a horse is already the source of a song, of course, But a horse, of course, does not belong with the fish and the shark, the whale and the dolphin.
Unless it’s a sea horse, of course.
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I felt this!! Thx for bringing this desert person to the ocean!!!! Xo
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Even here now, back home where the ocean is an hour away, I return to my poem and video to re-live my ocean walk. ❤
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The ocean has a way of getting into your soul. Your poem reflected that.
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As I walked along the ocean alone, feeling pulled in by the tide, and then later in the day, as I watched the hundreds of people – men, women, children – play along the surf, I realized – this IS where we all came from. We are all bonded to the ocean.
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I always feel this way when I see the ocean. Have not been there this summer. It’s such a powerful presence, isn’t it?
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POWER is a good word for all of Mother Nature, from thunderstorms to hot summer days and especially, with the constant ocean waves that remind us that life is everlasting, that what goes in must go out, that we are all part of this amazing universe.
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Very true – powerful and peaceful!
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This made me nostalgic for my years on Chincoteague Island (and the national seashore on nearby Assateague). The ocean was my higher power for a few years, the perfect image for me of letting go: floating on my back, letting the waves take me where they would, not needing to lift my head and check (for you know one cannot float if you lift your head). You took me back. And I thank you.
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How beautiful to read of your experience with the seashore on Chincoteague Island. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel – when we walk along the ocean, we learn the importance of LETTING GO, and of our own brilliant insignificance – much like looking up at the sky and being immersed in the millions of stars above. Thank YOU, Janet. xo
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I really like the poem. And the accompanying photos and video complete the poem.. Very nice job, Pamela.
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So glad you enjoyed walking along with me at the shore, Yvonne. ❤
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Wow.. this is something else!
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Thanks for enjoying my sea villanelle. I also watched the fishermen and women standing solitary at the shore, long fishing lines way out, waiting patiently for a bite. Most pulled in sharks (2 to 4 feet long) and released them back to the sea.
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All in all, sounds like a perfect day! lol
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Ahh Pamela, I went straight to this post from our comments. Lovely words and the flow of them flows with the sea. I love that you were joined by dolphins. It’s OK for us to go under sometimes, as we learn to keep flowing no matter what the conditions. Hugs for you. xXx
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To reach the highs, we must at times first fall low. All going “with the flow.” Yes, dolphins flip up and down often along the NJ shore. On the other hand, early in the morning an ocean-surf fisherman kept reeling in sharks (almost 4 feet) on his line, then releasing. I preferred the dolphins. 🙂
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Oh my gosh, sharks. Diversity in the water! ❤
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🦈 😬
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What an exquisite piece, Pam! Beautiful prose. Thanks for sharing it with us. Hugs!
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Many thanks for enjoying my poetic walk along the ocean, Teagan. xo
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Although we live in a landlocked location there is nothing so soothing for me as a walk by the ocean. your eloquent words instantly rocked me to a more soothing standpoint. Thank you for including the video which left me smiling and yearning for the sea.
I am hopeful each day finds you healing. Hugs across the miles.
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I feel your hugs and your concern, knowing as you do how patient a patient must be recovering from a concussion. I’m finally feeling a bit more “normal,” Sue, and walking along the ocean for 7 days truly was “head” and “soul” healing. ❤
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Wonderful to hear Pam. Glad the steps are forward and that the sea brought waves of healing. Xo
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Beautiful Pam, the rhythm is like the soothing rhythm of the sea – the sea always has the power to put things into perspective for me.
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EXACTLY, Andrea. When we get too full of ourselves, of our struggles, of the busy-ness of all we do, all we need to do is walk along the ocean and realize how insignificant it all is. But walking in the forest can do the same for us, can it not? I feel that happening with you (and then your readers) as you write of Nature surrounding you. ❤
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Thank you Pam.
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Lovely and soothing words, Pam, and makes me more excited for our beach weekend at Stinson Beach in October. I like the form, too, which I haven’t heard of before. We’re headed for the woods again, so Cheers to nature in all forms. Ocean and Mountains, can’t live without them. Have a wonderful weekend! Lauren 💗
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Stinson Beach – yes, one of my favorite places to go when I’m in CA (although the windy road to get there can be a deterrent for motion-sick me). The waves and the tide can be intimidating, in a beautiful way. My son has been taking his young boys there for surfing lessons. They LOVE it. Hope the air is clear and smoke-free where you are now, Lauren. xo
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Beautiful words to match a splendid surf! Nothing like the ocean to lead me into calm. 🙂
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The power and magnificence of the ocean lead me to calmness also, Debra. Namaste!
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What a beautiful contemplation, Pam. So serene.
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Thank you, Norah. Are you near the ocean, or able to go there often? Your country is SO beautiful. Cheers to you! xo
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I grew up at the beach but now live in the city about an hour to an hour and a half’s drive away. We getaway to the beach every month or two for a couple of days. I love it. But I love the country too. 🙂
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Love the poem, Pam. Thanks for sharing the little clip of the ocean. I miss it and will get one night after Labor Day to enjoy it a bit. Maybe I’ll get out there at dawn to be inspired as well.
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I recommend a dawn walk. The power is that much more incredible, along with the rosy hues as the sun rises over the ocean. ❤
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Soothing, beautiful, nourishing …. wonderful!! Mother and all Her Creations are Food for the Soul. Thank you for this incredible share! ☺️
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❤
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Beautiful, your words nourished my own soul as I traced your steps in the sand.. Such peace you created within your words.. And loved the ebb and flow of both words and ocean.. ❤
Have a beautiful restful week Pam… Long may you continue to breathe in the peace …. ❤
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Hi, Pam – Your poem reminds me of how grateful I am to live near the ocean.
Such beautiful words, images, textures and sounds!
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Beautiful! Enjoyed both the wonderful poem and the little video, made me feel like I was right there with you, smell the salty sea and feel the waves licking at my feet… Thanks for this little vacation trip, Pam! ❤
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You’re very welcome, Sarah. I return to this video once a day now that I’m back home in my routine. Just closing my eyes and listening to the surf brings me back there. xo
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Nature is the bomb. I love the sea. I only live about twenty minutes away from the beach, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to take the time and just walk through the sand. Your poem has made me realize I need to re-prioritize!
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It’s always the case – the tourists get to enjoy what’s right in our backyard. I hope you get to squish your toes in the sand soon, Kate. xo
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What a beautiful poem Pamela and I am forever grateful to live by the sea, with a fair amount of woods also. Nothing soothes me more than the sound of that pounding surf and the rise and release of the tide. It’s probably the only place that I love being alone with my thoughts. Not true, I love the woods also.
I miss you and hope you are enjoying your summer. I think you are getting plenty of ice cream this year. Enjoy.
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The ocean has the same effect on me. Lovely poem.
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And you’re so lucky to be so near the deep beautiful Atlantic O.
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Pingback: poetic journeys: C O L O R A D O – ~ wander.essence ~
Very beautiful, Pam! I especially like the part about the dissolving worries/lengthening stride. I can find myself in that. 🙂 🙂
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We all need that, don’t we? Ocean’s not nearby me now, so I walk in the nearby woods for dissolving those worries as I lengthen my stride. 🙂
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Beautiful way to start my day. Love the sound of the waves and the ocean… the poem is epic! ❤
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Wow, Courtney. I just saw your comment on my “Moon, Sun, Surf” poem. THANK YOU. Epic describes the feelings I experience when I walk along the ocean, for sure. xo
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What a great combination of natures love 🙂
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I’m thrilled you like my “surfen” poem and shared it with your readers on your beautiful blog. Thank you!
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