In case you were wondering why some of my most recent poems were about the ocean and nature, it is because My Beloved and I were on a mini-vacation at our favorite B&B. It’s very close to the beach and from our room we could hear the ocean waves. We loved experiencing their power and majesty and at bedtime being lulled to sleep by them. My Beloved took the photo of my that I will probably use as my new author’s photo. You may recall that my last one was shot at nearly the same spot last year, but this one is more of a close-up, which I believe author’s photos tend to be.
We had one of our best vacations ever. The waves got as high as twenty feet tall, though we kept missing the tallest ones when taking photos. We spent delightful days in Carmel-by-Sea, Pacific Grove, and Monterey, walked along the beach, drove for miles experiencing some of the most glorious seascapes we’ve ever experienced.
Two of my most recent poems were especially inspired by this vacation:
Forty Feet above the Sea
I stare from a small wall
Forty feet above the sea
It stands as a lonely sentinel
Protecting the unsuspecting
From an ugly plunge to a beautiful
Rugged boulder-strewn beach.
The merciless surf
Pounds unyielding jagged rocks
The latter gives no quarter
Breaking up the attack
Forcing even the mightiest waves
To eventually retreat
Regroup then strike again.
I never tire of experiencing
Such epic battles.
Though it seems the rocks
Win each day,
The waves are patient,
Unrelenting.
It seems only a matter of time,
Eons perhaps,
Before the waves win,
Grind the great boulders
Into tiny grains of sand.
But perhaps instead
Several centuries from now
The sea may recede,
Surrendering at least for a time.
Then the boulders
Will reclaim their brethren
From the briny depths.
I think such thoughts
And wonder at the spectacle
As I stand at a small wall
Forty feet above the sea
Knowing I will be long dead and gone
Returned to my own ashes and dust
Before the answer
As to which will be the victor
Is revealed.
—
and:
Salty Paradox
How can something as loud and violent
As powerful pounding waves
Crashing on jagged rocks
Make me feel so calm and peaceful?
Could it be the salt in the sea
Calling to the salt from the sea in me?
With Love,
Russ
© Copyright 2016 Russ Towne
All Rights Reserved
With Love,
Russ
© Copyright 2016 Russ Towne
All Rights Reserved
Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
Avery beautiful looking spot Russ! ❤
Diana xo
It is beautiful indeed, my friend!
Russ
A bloody lovely place
We love it.
I was in that area the last time I came to California. What I really liked about the restaurants in the area, even the simplest ones, was the huge double windows that were open inviting all the fresh ocean breeze to dine with me. Yep, I was happy! 😀 😀 I can see how you love this place!
Yes, the views from the restaurants’ windows are often stunning, especially at sunset.
Russ
Have not seen a sunset yet…some day I will plan to do it, but not this trip.
Sunsets along the West Coast can be glorious. I hope you’ll have the opportunity to experience one soon. My Beloved and I once sat for about an hour watching the sun late in the day. We were the only ones in the area and we had wonderful seats. After the finale, when we got up to leave and looked behind us we were surprised to see many people had quietly, respectfully, perhaps reverently, come up to sit behind us to also enjoy another of nature’s many wonders without doing anything to disturb what they could tell was a very special experience for us. Their consideration made the moment even more magical.
Russ
Wow…how awesome!
A well-deserved rest for both of you. Charley and I were there last year in April. Are the monarchs still nesting in Pacific Grove? And I love the pictures!
Thank you, Claremary. Yes, the Monarchs are still nesting in Pacific Grove. They tend to be there from November through February. We visited their sanctuary and were delighted by their grace and beauty, multiplied by the many hundreds or thousands.
We were there in April, so we walked the grove but they were already waiting for us to come home. they should begin their journey soon.
We were lucky to set a coupe of very knowledgeable docents who happily shared all kinds of interesting facts about the butterflies. For example Monarchs fly about 15 MPH normally but during their mating ritual they zoom to about 35 MPH. We saw a lot of zoomers. We were also told Monarchs are poisonous to all predators in the U.S. due to their Milkweed diet (though one species of bird in another part of the word has figured out Monarchs are edible if they only eat the body not the wings.) I had no idea…
Russ
I found out a little about Monarchs when I did Berkshire Tale, but I didn’t know about that bird species. I wonder how they avoid the wings?
Good question! Their mating rituals are also quite amazing. They reach speeds of 35 MPH then fall to the earth together, stay uh, connected, for 24 hours.
Russ
Kind of like Kamikazes! or Hari Karis???? Way too much work! And I’m afraid of heights.
LOL! I was kind of thinking the same thing! Even as a young man in my prime 24 hours was out of the question. I could fall to the earth, but flying 35 MPH and some of the other stuff those little critters do is way beyond me. I have a renewed sense of respect for those flutterbies!
Russ
The butterflies which arrive up north are actually the 3rd generation, the other 2 dying on the way up. Same on the return journey. With those antics, it’s no wonder they have a short life expectancy!
Fantastic! Wow
We used the word, “Wow” a lot all week. The whole area is amazing. Heidi even saw a whale from our Bed and Breakfast swimming nearby in the Monterey Bay.
Russ
Wow… again, awesome! keep it in your memories!
Ahhhhhhhh…….I could enjoy a spot like that Russ! 🙂
We’d love to live there year ’round but I wonder if over time I’d somehow risk becoming at least partially blinded to its awesome beauty via repetition. That would be a terrible thing. We joked that if we lived there, where would we go on vacation?
Russ
Where ever the kids are! 🙂
Good point! You’re right!
Russ
*sigh* The photos and the poems are lovely. 🙂
Thank you, Tess. It’s my hope that the poems do at least some justice to the beauty of the glorious views that inspired them.
Russ
Carmel is so beautiful, Russ. That’s where the first honeymoon was. I think the place was called “Tickle Pink” or something like that, with a similar view but up higher if my brain cells from almost 40 years ago are still somewhat functioning. And I loved this:
“It stands as a lonely sentinel
Protecting the unsuspecting
From an ugly plunge to a beautiful
Rugged boulder-strewn beach.”
Thank you, Koji. I love to hear specific feedback about parts of my creations that particularly resonate with those who experience them.
Russ