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Myrtle Beach 1960
by Tony Whitaker
So different then
I was six back in 60
when several times a year
the family would climb into the car
on a Friday morn
well before the dawn
two-lane black top
five hours or more
to our buried treasured place
Myrtle Beach State Park
a canopy of trees keeping it cool
and our super-sized family tent
picnic table with a camper stove
Sterno was how we eat
A hunter green Coleman lantern
(did you ever wonder why the
little string baskets didnt burn
in that heat while giving
bright white light)
gathering moths and mosquitoes
as all the grown-ups laughed
sharing stories in the night
Every morning I would get up
well before the others
(I can still hear moms warnings)
I would walk the beach
always quiet
only steady whispering waters
when waves rolled along the shore
Dolphins every morning by the score
you could hear their bodies slide
arching
though they be
a hundred yards off-shore
I can remember waiting
for the sun to break
through the cloudless wet horizon
a light breeze would stir
another magical summer morning
when
so different then
the only body
on the beach
09/23/2007 Author's Note: I miss Myrtle Beach when I was a boy before the high rises and the crowds. It was the jewel of the Carolina coast!
Posted on 09/23/2007
Copyright © 2026 Tony Whitaker
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by George Hoerner on 09/23/07 at 03:58 PM My wife and I stayed in that state park on our honeymoon. There was a log cabin and it was great. Now you must reserve it something like a year in advance. It certainly has changed a lot. You have brought back long held memories. Thanks! |
| Posted by A. Paige White on 09/23/07 at 05:00 PM Here you are 47 years later lighting that whitaker lantern to glow upon this wonderful story so well we can watch the dolphins and hear the motherly warnings with you! Great story telling. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 09/24/07 at 04:50 PM I always enjoying reading of others' trips down Memory Lane." Thanks for sharing this Tony. |
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