Sea Spume

Often I sit at the soul’s soft reach

Where the tide sweeps in to a lonely beach,

Where the rollers roll and the breakers break

To tug at the strings of an old heartache.

Where the swell will rise till it reaches the sky

When it breaks with the spume, so white, so high,

To race to the shore with a fume and a roar

Then retreat to the sea as it will, once more.

And then comes the girl I see in my dreams

As she wades in the tide to the waist, it seems,

I watch as she walks, her hair flying free

Her shawl dripping wet with the spray from the sea.

And each time I see her, down at the shore

I think of some maiden from old folk lore,

Her skirt in the water right up to the knee

She leans at the wind, but she never sees me.

One day he rose from the spume and the spray

A man grim-faced with his hair so grey,

He lurched from the water and reached for her wrist,

And when she resisted, he gave it a twist.

Then she called out with a voice like a bell

A sound, if you like, like a cockleshell,

I heard her cry he should let her be,

Not plague her with love, she’d like to be free.

I knew I should help, but the tide was high,

And where I was sat it was warm and dry,

He dragged her through rollers that covered her head,

As far as I know, that girl is dead.

So often I sit at the soul’s soft reach

Where the tide sweeps in to a lonely beach,

Where the rollers roll and the breakers break

To tug at the strings of an old heartache.

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[TPK Stories]

Awesome story to read as always.

[D Connolly]

As always, I love your poems. I really like how the 1st and last parts are the same. It brings the story full circle. The part where you knew you should help, but were comfortable where you were makes me think of missed opportunities

[Celie Rose]

I enjoyed reading your poem.
The words flow nicely together.
Rhyming style is amazing.
Kind of eerie and sad but such a beautiful
write.
"Often I sit at the soul’s soft reach
Where the tide sweeps in to a lonely beach,"
Well written and expressed.

[Barbz]

I have a sense of sadness in this beautifully written poem. The girl who he longs for and sees in his dreams may either not be aware of the admirers deep and strong affection, or might be void of those feelings completely. Perhaps, "Not plague her with love, she'd like to be free" So sad is unrequited love, sadder yet on a lonely beach, chilled by sea spume..Nice write, David. Barbz

[Valentine]

David, the rhyme and flow of this is flawless. Beautiful write but you know me, I would have liked a happy ending. Nice write. Valentine