Across from Dover, the Dunes
The dunes here don’t hurry.
They lean, slow‑boned,
against the long breath
of the North Sea.
Grass whispers sideways,
never quite deciding
which wind to trust.
A gull draws a white stitch
through the sky,
then lets the thread fall slack.
Far off, a freighter
moves along
a thought
someone forgot to finish.
I walk the sand‑ridges
that rise and collapse
like old arguments
between land and water.
Nothing chases me,
save thoughts
performing delights.
Only the wind,
its long grammar,
sifting salt‑worn sand.
.
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Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: August 5th, 2026 05:09
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 18
- Users favorite of this poem: Doggerel Dave, sorenbarrett, A.N., Cheeky Missy, Tristan Robert Lange
- In collections: throwback.
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Comments6
Great descriptive piece my friend
Thanks, friend 🙏🕊️
most welcome
"old arguments between land and water" - A beach personified. I felt that.
Place doesn't happen to be Dunkirk, does it?
Yes! That is an argument as old as time. And I was setting up to see that latest Dunkirk flick, if it stands up to the classic version. Now I have to follow through. 🙏🕊️
Slow patience is the feel that I get with this poem. It speaks in a timeless voice. The wording is delightful and I can feel the salt air in it. Its very opening sets the tone. A delightful first stanza a beach combers vision. the second stanza introduces metaphor in personification of the grass. The third stanza draws a beautiful image that is clear to any that have walked the beach with open eyes. In the fourth another metaphor introduced. The last stanzas fill in the feeling and metaphors melding them together into that drifting feeling I have had so many times walking that shore. It leaves a solitary feeling of meditation. A most lovely write one of your best. A definite fave
The poem was working with both emotions and atmospheres of either side of the Channel whilst being on the Dutch side of it. Glad that brought this interplay of feeling and metaphor. It was a very moving segment of a European journey. 🙏🕊️
Very nice
Well, I can't shay that lastsh line after a gin or three! lol. Shiftingsh shoolt-worn shand.
🤣🤩might as well pour some more 🍻🥂
Went through Dunkirk in 1980. Visited a War Cemetery there.
A good Write.
I went inland to visit WW1 cemeteries and monuments. 🙏🕊️
Arqios, this really moved me…there’s such a deep sense of stillness here. The landscape isn’t just observed, it’s inhabited, and by the end I felt like I was walking those dunes beside you. Beautifully done, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
That would be fun! Cheers friend🙏🕊️
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