Catching the Heart off Guard

There was a time when
I knew nothing about life on the
coast: how the shore is buffeted by wind;
waves spray salty brine above dunes; and
seals follow you, riding the
waves glittering in morning light.

Now I know the sound of gulls, they are
the music of the sea, laughing at humans working
on boats.  Gulls know the beauty of life off
shore. I learned to love their cries each
morning, when they woke me from dreams of other
lives and places; gulls would never leave me so.

And then comes the time that
catches the heart off guard, when the
wind blows in off the ocean
swathed in sea fret, dances on
the coast road. And there is that one
night when it blows you off-side.

I know now that the ocean is
my passion, my wild
friend that covers me with
wild kisses and sea foam,
fills my mouth with salt and
my eyes with morning glitter.

Kim M. Russell, 10th September 2024

It’s time for Tuesday Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub, Lillian is our host, and we are joining her in Provincetown, by the beautiful sea. Lillian tells us about a television show she used to watch in the 1960s, ‘Sing Along with Mitch’, which she watched in the den with her parents. I enjoyed her description of the den and the television set they had back then.

Lillian has provided a recording from a Sing Along with Mitch album, which she says sounds exactly like it did back then on the television show, called ‘By the Beautiful Sea’

Our challenge is to write poetry about the sea or the ocean. There’s no particular form or length, and could be about an experience, a mythical poem about a seafarer, or simply a description of the sea. I thought I’d try a golden shovel (and title) using lines from Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Postscript’, about the Flaggy Shore in County Clare:

“… when the wind
And the light are working off each other
So that the ocean on one side is wild
With foam and glitter…”

“As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.”

https://poems.com/poem/postscript/

Also shared with What’s Going On? for Sumana’s prompt about beauty on 12th March 2025.

65 thoughts on “Catching the Heart off Guard”

  1. Ah Kim, I adore this! “Now I know the sound of gulls, they are
    the music of the sea” YES YES YES! I often rise (without an alarm) in time to watch the sun rise here. And just as the sky is turning pink, before the first sliver of the sun appears, the gulls start to make their presence known, in song and flying through the shadows. Beautiful!
    And that last stanza: YES YES YES!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. This is exquisitely drawn, Kim! Sigh 😍 I especially love and resonate with; “And then comes the time that catches the heart off guard, when the wind blows in off the ocean
    swathed in sea fret, dances on the coast road.” Yes! ❤️❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. This woods-dweller peeps out between his leaves every once in a while to see how you beachies are doing. If this poem’s any indication you’re more than merely OK, so he’s happy for you.

    Great work, K. Thanks

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. That catch is the dark part of the sea we love and fear the most, is kin to the deepest art of the heart. Love that collection of music and poetry by Heaney and O’Flynn, esp. “The Given Note.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. A stunning poem Kim. I love your last stanza

    I know now that the ocean is
    my passion, my wild
    friend that covers me with
    wild kisses and sea foam,
    fills my mouth with salt and
    my eyes with morning glitter

    Beautiful, it took my breath away ☺️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  15. Beautifully written, Kim. Our family never traveled to the ocean. After we got married and moved to NC we went every summer to Nags Head and Emerald Isle. It was wonderful to watch our boys enjoy the water.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Dwight. When we were little, my gran used to take us on a coach for a day at the seaside – we couldn’t afford a holiday, but I looked forward to that day every year, even though I always got travel sick on the way there and back.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  16. I live near the coast in California. Gulls follow pelicans and try to steal their catch! the last few weeks, giant schools (they say billions) of anchovies and sardine have caused massive feasts right at the shoreline. a wonderful cacophony ~

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. A beautiful Golden Shovel. I love the call of the gulls. I was in Scotland recently and I adored the calls of the gulls over the cities, little villages, the loch and the sea. They are amazing and I have photos of them from every place I visited.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  23. Again, you describe the area in which you live so very beautifully! You paint beautiful word pictures. I would really like to see your ocean area and hear those gulls! Lovely.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much, Mary. Norfolk has a very rugged coastline ,Sadly, much of it is being eroded by the sea, and we are now worried about pollution after the recent collision of tankers off the coast of Yorkshire.

      Like

      Reply

  28. A wondrous beauty, this poem and the Norwich coastline you describe, both making us taste, feel, revel in this singular passion for your “wild friend.” I don’t think I’ve read a better “golden shovel.” As far as modern poets go, Seamus Heaney is a favorite, and I enjoyed the reading you shared. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.