Past the Shallows
Past the shallows now,
well and truly into deep water –
water that is charcoal cold.
I navigate these waters alone.
Children playing in the bay
race to collect the early morning treasure
gifted by tide,
left lying on sandy mounds.
In these shallows
the bays and cays are protected –
life is carefree and careless,
and sun sings her tuneful rays.
Too quickly the tide turns,
taking me out deeper each year -
deeper into whitewater waves
where treasures serve only to tease me.
Paths that were once clear
now seem distant, confused,
hurrying me deeper
as if in some urgency.
In this twilight break –
blackened waters swirl,
their soft-lipped touches
enticing me down.
Soon, too soon - like tidal waters
I’ll ebb and flow until
what I have to offer -
will not be enough.
About this poem
When we are young, we play in shallow waters and live a carefree, happy time - well-protected. As we age, we venture out alone into deeper waters until age takes its toll and no-one cares about us anymore. Can I survive the future? Will people still want what I can offer, or is this not going to be enough?
Written on January 11, 2023
Submitted by susannaelliott on January 31, 2024
- 45 sec read
- 121 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEBFGGHIJKLMNLOBNPQRSTUBV |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 775 |
Words | 151 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 28 |
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"Past the Shallows" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/179747/past-the-shallows>.
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