Image: Eroded Coast, Ireland, Fay Collins, oil on board

Eroded Coast, Windswept Man

I’ve been down this rutted path
countless times before
always providing adventure
always something in store

My mind starts to wander
across the meadow verdant green
set surreal against the azure sea
it appears to be a dream

Rickety old fence now barely standing
a shadow of what it used to be
leaning hard and about to fall
seems it is quite similar to me

Autumn harvest now completed
only russet stalks remain
my body cannot hide its age
like this eroded coastal terrain

Bay waters looking calm today
I remember sailing them with ease
but that ship has sailed
windswept body lacks a breeze

Recalling frolics on the island
as the sun begins to set
although my body tattered
my life holds no regrets

——

Linked to dVerse Poets Pub —Tuesday Poetics: Fay Collins revisited!, where Sarah is hosting and prompted us to write an ekphrastic poem about one of Fay Collin’s paintings.

19 thoughts on “Eroded Coast, Windswept Man”

  1. Ron,
    What a clever ekphrasis, engaging in a conversation that arises naturally from the particulars of the painting to arrive at a conclusion: no regrets.
    Pax,
    Dora

  2. “my body cannot hide its age like this eroded coastal terrain.”.. this is such an apt and moving comparison! Lovely poem! 💝💝

  3. The image and words work so well together. We may be walking more slowly, but the life still runs though us, always forward toward that blue horizon. (K)

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