St Simons Island, Georgia USA
East Beach, 12/4/2011
"Your focus determines your reality." —Qui-Gon Jinn
Witnessing an
amazing low-tide
phenomenon,
as if a walkway to
a parallel world
has suddenly appeared,
extending one-half mile
from East Beach
out to sea
People are slowly
gathering, walking, stopping,
stooping, staring in silence,
speaking softly—
I'm as eager
as Simon Peter
to join them, yet
somewhat afraid of
walking where
there has been
only seawater
minutes before—
Chattering dolphins
beckoning in the distance
instill confidence
So I join them,
stepping from the
beach onto the
other-worldly terrain,
first 42 steps confirming
we are not alone!
Surrounded by
a menagerie of
sand *****, clams,
beach flea amphipods,
sea roach isopods,
ghost, hermit, and
fiddler *****, even
cannonball jellyfish—
shades of the
Mos Eisley Cantina
on Tatooine
in miniature
But beware of
semidiurnal
tidal cycles—
Twice a day
at high tide
the sea, like an
unstable vortex
of a Chappa'ai,
consumes the
phenomenon,
even the beach itself
to the edge of
the dune
"The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience." —Frank Herbert
"So long and thanks for all the fish!" —Farewell message from exiting dolphins, translated by Douglas Adams
Mark Toney ©️ 2023
5/21/2023 - Poetry Form: Free Verse - ‘The Georgia coast is geographically the westernmost point of any Atlantic coast region, and part of the area known as the South Atlantic Bight, the coastline that curves from Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Canaveral, FL. St. Simons and Jekyll Islands are at the inward-most point of the South Atlantic Bight and thus experience the most severe tidal ranges of 6 to 9 feet. The Atlantic Ocean's tidal range, miles offshore, is just 2 to 3 feet.' —National Park Service | Fort Pulaski (nps.gov/fopu/learn/nature/hydrology.htm)