Poetry Laurels: How High the Moon? Sandcastles on the Beach

Thursday, August 6, 2020

How High the Moon? Sandcastles on the Beach

It is vacation time - to be outdoors, in the mountains, in the garden, on the beach... Here are some romantic beach poems about the simple pleasures of life. Flying a kite, jumping in the waves, sailing, building a sand castle are all activities we used to take for granted. Now so much harder when we are told to stay away from each other, and wear masks, masks, masks. The "mask" is a symbol of lies and deception, it is a barrier between us and life. Let's forget the masks for a moment, and enjoy summer in California, summer on the beach... with half-moon and full sun at the same time.

Let's start by listening to the divine Ella Fitzgerald singing "High high the moon..." with incredible gusto and an epic scat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djZCe7ou3kY

Or if you are more relaxed, maybe you want to listen to Lola Albright, with her old-style charm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4jFd0XYYb0

Slowing down to the sleepy, breathy, yet resonant voice of Mel Torme (1961), you can doze off on the beach accompanied by violin solos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4jFd0XYYb0

A Day Trip to Venice

The stunt kite traces the infinity sign

over and over above our heads in June-gloom sky

until it twirls into a spiral nose-dive and hits the sand

so hard it falls apart.

Again, it floats up – patiently, gently,

like wings of the dove, so steady high above us, we

float up with the kite into the lucid, pearly milkiness

of clouds, shifting shapes on this strange afternoon.

A lone sailboat disappears into the distance.

Pacific Ocean is cut in half by a sharply outlined pathway

of light leading towards the steely white sun – so hard, so relentless

it pierces through the mist, carried onshore by steady winds.

We watch the stunt kite dance its dangerous dance.

Ominous steel waves turn into lead. Darkness falls

around us until we cannot see, only feel the tug of the

outstretched lines that keep the kite balanced in the air.

This is the trick of living well, this balance,

staying afloat on marine air currents

lifting us above – higher and higher

into pristine clarity – to postpone

the inevitable crash, avoid

the death spiral at all costs,

any cost – live here and now

in the sweet bye and bye –

forever –

Carving Sand

On the shore of the Pacific

a man carves out a sandcastle

with the straight, sharp edge of

a credit card. Crenellated ramparts,

tall arched gates, Gothic windows and

elaborate turrets – the castle comes into being

just for a moment – until the high tide washes it away

and the dream vanishes among the waves.

So do we – build our own sand-castles,

on credit, with cards we struggle to pay off

after darkness passes and the fog of despair

lifts up. Was it worth it? To keep the house for kids

and have no time to be there for them, with them?

Working, always working… Was it worth it? To mortgage

your whole future for a dream of finding refuge in a rose garden,

filled with the sweetness of birdsong and orange blossoms?

Bright sunlight pours onto the beach,

outlines the carved contours of the sandcastle,

standing proudly alone, just for a moment,

for this moment, for us.

The ocean is friendly. How do you know? It waves! An old joke from a children's book tells the truth: the ocean is our friend. Its rhythms, waves crashing with 5 and 7 seconds between them stimulate the calming rhythms in the brain and peaceful, serene emotions. The waves are hypnotic and you could spend hours looking at the breakers, listening to their noise. The ocean's clean air, full of ozone and iodine, heals our lungs. The salty water heals the skin and muscles - just do not drink it!