Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ocean Haiku

As some of you know, my husband and I were in beautiful, sunny Florida for two delightful weeks. The second week, he took a Chapman's seamanship course which gave me plenty of time to reflect, read, and of course, write.

While walking the beach (white sand on the Gulf side and brown sand on the Atlantic side), I took in the warmth, sand, and blue water! I also met several interesting people (more on that in another post) and was especially entertained by the birds. I loved watching their rituals.

As promised, I'll share some ocean haiku I wrote. I hope some of these give you a feel for the beach and ocean. I wrote too many haiku to post here but chose a few favorites. Please tell me which one you like, and feel free to add some of your own in the comment section!

LUNCHTIME
By Beth Carter
Pelicans circle.
Dive headfirst into ocean.
Pluck fish from the sea.

WAVES
By Beth Carter
Rolling, boiling sea.
Tide foamy like shaving cream.
Splashes on my toes.

AHOY, MATEY
By Beth Carter
Ship on horizon
Friend or foe? Looms large and then
disappears from sight.

WHAT AM I?
By Beth Carter
Underwater blimp?
A pig or small elephant?
Manatee, of course!

A KID AGAIN
By Beth Carter
Buckets of brown sand.
Plastic cups of all sizes.
Castle emerges.


THE BOSS
By Beth Carter
Waves frothing at mouth.
Rolling, lapping angrily.
Telling all who's boss.


FOOTPRINTS
By Beth Carter
Footprints in the sand.
Leading to nowhere and back.
Wiped clean by the tide.

15 comments:

  1. Gosh, Beth. Tough choice. But, if I had to choose just one, it would be "Footprints." Beautiful, and I can just see them disappear with the waves.

    Here's an ocean haiku I wrote a long time ago:

    Wave moving, growing
    Excitement building, rushing
    Calm, peaceful water

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    1. Thank you, Jan.

      FOOTPRINTS is Bob's favorite, too. I think my fave is A KID AGAIN. I loved making sand castles and watching the kids make them on this trip. Seems a shame to work so hard and have it washed away, though!

      I like your wave haiku. I can feel and see it.

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  2. The Sun

    Hey there, sun
    Bright and yellow.
    Come on back,
    Little fellow.

    (I don't do haiku or poetry, but wanted to share something anyway. Bet you wish I hadn't, huh?

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    1. I loved it, Shirley. It seems especially appropriate since we've had clouds and rain for 5 consecutive days. I'm more than ready for Mr. Sun to "come on back."

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    2. Shirley, maybe you should write poetry! You connected with all of us. :)

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  3. I love it, Shirley! It's such a cute poem, and I totally agree. "...come on back little fellow."

    Now, which one of my haiku did you like best?

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  4. I think I like KID AGAIN best. Evokes fun memories, not just of the ocean, but of my childhood memories of sand and dirt piles.

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  5. My favorites were FOOTPRINTS and WAVES.

    glad you got a laugh out of my flash fiction.

    http://russellgayer.blogspot.com/

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    1. I got a huge laugh out of your flash fiction, Russell. Everyone should hop over to his blog.

      Glad you liked WAVES, too. Seems most like FOOTPRINTS.

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  6. Definatly Footprints. It reminds me of forgiveness.

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    1. Thanks, Wanda. Most seem to like that one ( except my mom who said it made her cry!) Her favorite was AHOY, MATEY.

      Thanks for stopping by--and for the restaurant recommendation on FB.

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  7. "Footprints" is my favorite. Sometimes when I walk down the beach and back, I try to walk in my own footprints - if I can find them.

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    1. Thank you, Susan. And I do the same thing whether it's on the beach or in the snow.

      Good luck with your novel.

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  8. Hi Beth - tag you are a lucky duck. I hope you can play along. It is a blogger get to know you game. http://www.livinginthemiddle.com/2012/03/tagi-am-lucky-duck.html

    P.S. How are books sales going?

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    1. Ha! What fun, Kristen. I'll check out the blog now.

      Book sales are slow and steady. It's a lot of work marketing and selling books, I tell you. ;) Thanks for asking.

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