Happy Friday! Last Friday, my Poetry Friday friend Linda shared an etheree – a particular poetic form, where the first line has one syllable, the next line two and so on, all the way to ten. I had seen this form before but not played with it, but Linda’s lovely poem about her cat (you can see it here) inspired me to give it a go.
Another thing I’ve been inspired by this past year, is my beach visits. I have always found the beach restful and inspiring in equal measure, and in Covid times, those visits have taken on extra meaning. So, when I decided to write an etheree and needed a single syllable word to begin with, there was only once choice. Here is what I came up with:
My Place
Beach
each day
different
one day calm, still
the next, crashing waves
one day leaping dolphins
next an exuberant seal
new sights, delights await each time
I visit; but one thing stays the same:
that beach never fails to make me wonder.
When I’d finished, I decided I’d like to also try my hand a reverse etheree – which starts with ten syllables and works back to one. I instantly wondered if I could take that last line of my first etheree and make it the first line of my reverse. You can see I tweaked the first word, but here’s what came out:
Take Away
The beach never fails to make me wonder:
new sights and sounds on every visit
a seal, a dolphin, screeching gulls
gambolling dogs, chasing waves
that gently roll or else
loudly crash and bash.
So much to take
away when
home time
comes.
And then, just when I thought I was finished, I realised that I’d left something out – the people who share the beach with me. Nearly every day I see my beach-friend Dave, walking his dog Mitch, and there are other regulars – some I know by name, some I know by sight, and some people I see there just once. And, of course, especially in the last year, I have loved sharing my beach through photos and videos shared here on my website and through social media, with people far and wide. It’s been a real privilege to share what I see, and to hear from people who have enjoyed those glimpses. So, one more etheree, again begun with the last line of the one before
Sharing
Come
with me
and walk on
sandy shores and
see what I can see
hear what I am hearing
even if you are with me
only through a camera lens.
Technology bringing you along
makes my own experience much richer.
Thanks Linda for inspiring me to try this form. I know I’ll be using it more – and sharing it in the classroom, too.
Thanks too to Molly, who will be hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup. I can’t wait to see what new inspiration I collect from my fellow poets this week.
What a marvelous trio of beach etherees you’ve created, I tempted to jump inside your poem, or definitely the beach scene! I love when our poems beget more poems, and on and on… Thanks Sally!
Lovely! I wish I had a beach nearby! I have to keep telling myself I DO live on a tropical island paradise, even on days when I’m very far from the beach. 🙂 Ruth in urban Haiti
As a fellow beach lover, your etherees were especially delightful to me. I can’t decide which I prefer and thankfully, there’s no need to do so! I can simply enjoy them all. I’ll be thinking of you on my next beach visit 🙂
I always love seeing your work inspired by the beach. These etherees are fun. I am one of those who lives far away, just imagining through my computer.
Count me among those who enjoy tagging along on your visits to the beach. All three of your etherees (and your photos) share glimpses of the beach.
I appreciate that you don’t keep your beach all to yourself! Going backwards with the etheree — what a great idea! I think I liked your second one even better.
I love that I inspired you, Sally! Thank you for the shout out! And the etheree wave (per LInda M) is perfect. I certainly love your beachy sharing every.single.time you do share, & this touched me, that ending, slow walking away: “So much to take
away when
home time
comes.
Happiest of beach walks to you!
Thank you so much for inspiring me, Linda 🙂 And for visiting with me today.
Sally, thanks for the trip to my favorite place. I kept nodding my head. Yes I agree until it came to the dolphins and seals. I can’t see those at my beach but loved hearing about them at yours. I enjoyed your others poems and think I like the way the reverse etheree moved. Your coffee cup holds the spirit of Poetry Friday.
Thanks for coming along with me, Carol.
Enjoyed my trip to your beach, Sally. What fabulous poems — the etheree is a delightful form and it looks like you had fun with it.
Thanks Jama. I did!
haloooo, dear Sally! i LOVE the beach trips you take us on. this post makes me want to try an etheree [ & to discover the origin/meaning of the e. word.] wishing you a flow of ocean life/sand life this weekend.
jan/bookseedstudio
Thank you Jan. Glad you enjoy them.
Sally, I so appreciate your sharing of your place. I really do feel like I’ve visited after reading a post. It’s tremendously generous of you. Thank you! You know, your etheree, then reverse then etheree…they are waves. You saw that, right? I did! And, it’s a perfect form for today’s post.
Oh wow Linda. I love when a reader teaches me something about my own work. Of course they are waves! Thank you!