My eldest son is flying home from Italy today. He’s had a great trip visiting Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Scilla, the town in the Calabria region where his paternal great grandparents are from. He’s kept us up to date with daily photo entries on a shared google photo album. The trip was finally consummated after being postponed from the summer of 2020. At 18 days, this trip was much shorter than the original six-week trip, during which we would have gone to stay with him for visit to the country of my husband’s heritage. But, life goes on and he is a doctoral student who must return to finish his studies this semester at a large mid-western university.
As I looked at his photos of the ocean off the shores of Italy, I thought about tides. I have similar photos from a variety of places in the world – where the ocean or sea meets the land. These places include Japan, Florida, Mexico, South Carolina, Delaware, San Diego, Bermuda, The Netherlands, Maui, and Kauai. When standing on the shore, looking out, it can be hard to tell where in the world you are. I remember thinking that as I stood on the shore of the North Sea on Scheveningen Beach. And, again on Maui. And, again at Playa del Carmen. And, again on Coronado Beach or La Jolla.
What do all these places have in common? The rhythms of the ocean tides. The sound of the waves crashing onto the beach can be both calming and frightening depending on the degree of calmness in the water.
Thus, I started a poem on the tides, inspired by the places I’ve been, and the places to where I will soon go. The next time, I’m standing on the edge of the land where the ocean meets the sand, I’ll listen more carefully to the rhythmic sound of the waves. After that, I’ll add to my poem.
Tide Rhythms
The rhythm of the tide is the same
No matter upon which shore you stand.
Florida or Japan
California or The Netherlands.
In and out,
Waves push and pull.
Challenging us to stay in place,
Still.
For we can do what oceans cannot,
Remain rooted to a spot.
© Draft, Carol Labuzzetta, 2022
Today is Poetry Friday. Our host for this week is Mary Lee at ayearofreading.org. Thanks for hosting Mary Lee! Please visit her page for some inspiring poetry and links to other authors.
The Apples in My Orchard 
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