Beachcombers (If I May Say)

Things do not change; we change. - Thoreau

today

same as yesterday

if i may say

when i was at the park

down by the water

the tide was at a decreased, deceased ebb

mournful and filled with lead

running low on octane

no one around to whom the inlet could complain

pertaining to this giant bathtub drain

feeling snooty

seagulls sashayed about on the sandy, brown, bald spots now showing

in search of buried booty

it mattered not to them

for every tide has an argent lining

it will once again advance

burying more treasure

same as it's done since creation

an in-and-out celebration

it makes quite a difference moreover

when it returns

sporting a youthful, new comb-over

today

same as yesterday

if i may say

Author's Note

“The poet who walks by moonlight is conscious of a tide in his thought which is to be referred to lunar influence.” - Thoreau

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

Although the accompanying picture depicts a barbershop tragedy, this offering is actually about the timeless rhythms of nature. The changeless motions of the tides is characterized as "an in and out celebration." What the tide takes out one day, it returns the next, like a comb over. Thus nothing is ever lost, nothing gained.

[Pete]

lol. tragedy - more like a barren melodrama. your take is sharply acute and astute. as my main man once wrote, "it's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ... :)

[mattavelli]

Hello, Pete! :)
I used to go to the beach in search of booty too. Haha... Squawk!
I like the combover analogy. Its the same as yesterday, but not quite what it was a decade ago.
Thanks for sharing.

[Pete]

ever since a kid, when at the beach, thinking pirates once tread there and buried treasure. i love the beach and always find a different kind of treasure there. unfortunately, the top of my head is now more like a door prize than a treasure. thanks m ... :)

[barleygirl]

I admit, I've been wanting to read this poem since yesterday, as I watched the name of this poem evolve in my newsfeed *wink! wink!* I was already in love with "Combover" as a poem title, but alas! I awoke this morning to "Beachcombers"! *sigh!* Nevertheless, I love the idea of waves as combover. That is some truly brilliant thinking. Since you didn't use "Combover" as a title, I might steal it, it's such a great concept. I love the fullness & relatability of everything you've stated & I also picked up some sea trash in between the lines. I'm reading this as the waves of contentious BS that keep coming at us in the political discourse these days. Or the latest deadly shooting or dire prediction about the economy. So much BS sloshing up on our beaches! And I know in reality you despise the seagull, which makes your middle verse sing as we picture all the garbage-mouths you might be referring to from the public sphere. Or this could also symbolize how we pile crap on ole mother earth, so smug in our assumptions that she can whisk away any mountain of crap we throw at her. I mean, this poem basically justified my choice to hole up in the wilderness, far from the garbage eating nimwits that gather along the periphery of life. I apologize for how your poem carried me out to sea with my analogies (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Pete]

so i take it you like "combover" better? i wrestled & debated with that change for quite a while. lol at your bs observations. as i've told you before, i usually start out with a simple observation but as i write it morphs and expands to the point where different interpretations are applicable (none can possibly be wrong - every reader will interpret in their own way). this one actually started as a prim and proper observation on the tide and how there are two ways of looking at it, covering and revealing - both mixed blessings depending on one's viewpoint. the seagull either has patience or has learned to wait. thank you so much for your ever-sharp eye and wit ... :)

[Poetic Beauty]

People and nature change over time. It is an endless cycle of changing and rearranging. As we learn we grow

I love the visuals in this poem. I felt like I sitting there watching the calm water

[Pete]

you picked up on watching the calm water - that's exactly what i was doing when i got the idea for this - there is much going on even in the calm. was thinking how the tide is like life ... :)