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House In the Sand

by Ken Harnisch

Some day I will walk

Barefoot through the sand

To the old clapboard house

In the waving saw grass

Go out to the porch

With the awning tumbling down

From the winter storms

And watch the gray Atlantic roll

 

I will think of you

No poem I ever wrote

Doesn’t have your shadow somewhere

Even on the pristine white

Of this empty page

And no sound, not even the

Angry ocean, is going to make

Me forget the echo of your name

 

I will march to the edge of the

Windblown dunes and look far

Out to sea. Spying tramp steamers and

Pleasure boats I will remember

How you liked the sunburned smile

On my crusty face and the way I pointed

Out the waves breaking far from shore

On the jetty where the breakers went to die

 

You will be with me as I trudge

Across the sands in wintertime

When only the dog walkers and the surf

Casters own the beach; where the white water rolls

So cleanly to my feet. There in the pewter hours

Of the morning I will remember all. Then, tasting

The windblown salt, and the memories of you

I will go to write your ode.

06/19/2003

Posted on 06/19/2003
Copyright © 2024 Ken Harnisch

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Kate Demeree on 06/19/03 at 08:41 PM

I will return to this... often. I doubt I will find any words to express how it moves me. Still I will leave my set of footprints in the sand along it's shore.

Posted by Agnes Eva on 06/19/03 at 09:09 PM

i've often dreamed of just the house you describe, so the scene was especially vivid for me.. so poignant, your tasting of the windblown salt and the memories (our senses so close to memories)... a beautiful poem

Posted by Alex Smyth on 06/20/03 at 03:46 AM

In the company of memories...haunting...

Posted by Charles E Minshall on 06/20/03 at 04:10 AM

Excellent love poem Ken. Well written ...Charlie

Posted by Vimal Rony on 06/20/03 at 04:20 AM

Ken,u have weaved magic here.

Posted by Rommel Cruz on 06/20/03 at 04:46 AM

bittersweet and definitely an excellent read

Posted by Mara Meade on 06/20/03 at 12:37 PM

Beautiful. I can feel the lonliness and the longing. I like the way you've involved the senses and the setting - the associations are especially poignant.

Posted by John Ilotan on 06/20/03 at 02:16 PM

Ken, you grab hold of the readers heart and touch every sense with scenes of grey and silver."There in the pewter hours I will remember all." Beautiful work.

Posted by Jean Mollett on 06/21/03 at 03:17 AM

Hi Ken, It's beautiful. The way you described the house on the sand. The beauty. Sounds like you're thinking of a long love ago. Or resently lost one. Love can stink sometimes.

Posted by Charles J Hannan on 06/21/03 at 04:08 AM

This is touching, Ken...an amazing way with words and picture painted so well...great job!

Posted by Melissa Arel on 06/30/03 at 01:34 PM

I can't help but agree with everyone's comments.. this is a magical piece.. sad, but serenely beautiful. I'm glad I returned to PPS with such treasures as this one to read! :)

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