Beach Walk

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We still love La Manzanilla, don't we? We know that all will soon be back to normal, the laguna once more sealed off, the crocodiles sealed off from the beaches and coastline, and the beaches and water once more inviting to human habitation.
It was 35 years ago that I first ran away from home to go live at the beach.  For the past 15 years, I have never lived more than 4 hours away from the ocean, and for 20 years before that, I was within 20 miles of it. During these years, I have written hundreds of pages of poems and stories about the the beach, and as I sat here for two hours today, reworking what perhaps was one of the first poems I ever wrote as I spent a year going to the beach every day to write, it suddenly occurred to me that I would rather be doing art, using the boxes of material collected on the beach during the two months I spent there this year, than writing about the experience. I’ve already done that, and here is where you can find it: https://judydykstrabrown.com/category/beach-poems/

That URL will get you to the most recent beach poems. (You’ll need to scroll down past this one once you’ve clicked on the URL above.)  To see earlier ones, go to the archives (near the bottom of the scroll next to a poem entitled “flip flop”)  and select November, 2014 or December, 2014 for older poems.

Please join me in beach combing by taking a walk backwards—as far as you choose to go—through three years of beach poems—reading and looking at what you wish. Some poems you may just walk by or pick up in your hands and then cast away. Others you may examine closely, reading them in their entirety. And some, I hope, you will choose to store away on the shelf of your mind to remind you that you came from the sea and it is always there for you to go back to.

Now, for the rest of the day, I’m going to do what I’ve wanted to do for a month and a half now—unpack some of the boxes of shells, stones, bones, sand, corroded metal, driftwood and assorted beach trash found on the beach as well as uncompleted “found” sculptures begun in January and February. Then, I’ll  “do” for a day instead of writing about it.

Please enjoy your beach combing today as I’ll enjoy mine.

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/beach/

16 thoughts on “Beach Walk”

  2. judyreeveswriter's avatarjudyreeveswriter

    I’m glad you’re going to make art for a while today, Judy. Your work brings me such joy. So this is a very selfish comment. I hope you’ll post pix of what you create with the beachcombing finds.

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  5. Marilyn Armstrong's avatarMarilyn Armstrong

    I loved Jerusalem. Although it was only an hour from the Mediterranean and an hour and a half from the Sea of Galilee (it’s a beach, no matter what else it also is) … I always missed living nearer to water. We don’t have the sea close here (it’s an hour and a half to Cape Cod and the beaches), everywhere in the valley is no more than a quarter of a mile from a river, lake, or pond. I like that. Except when it floods. Then i don’t like it quite as much 😉

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  8. Sixeighty's avatarSixeighty

    I’ve never been lucky enough to live close to the beach, though I have stayed near one a few years ago with my family.
    It was incredible to wake up and look out across the vast blue grey expanse, and due to the wind, white horse shaped whips of water ran across the surface as far as I could see.
    Twas incredible.

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      1. Sixeighty's avatarSixeighty

        I have not, but I am kinda wondering if I should write about some of my own past stuff rather then just fiction…
        I over describe things sometimes haha, I hope I don’t intimidate anyone with what I write

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  9. April's avatarApril

    Aloha from another beach comber and blogger. I’ve lived along the coast of NC and Hawaii back and forth for over 20 years. There’s a peace that it brings my soul, even on the nastiest of weather days. Enjoying reading your posts and look forwards to following you!

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    1. lifelessons's avatarlifelessons Post author

      Thanks, April. I usually spend 2 months a year at the beach. This year I’ll be here for 3. I’ll look forward to your future comments. Now that my computer has sufficient memory again, I’ll be posting photos of the beach environs..Are you at the beach now?

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