Tag: nature

Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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In the Silence Between Waves, Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Surf ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #337

I paddle out onto the calm sea
Despite the listless surf
Rather, no

Because of it

I love the thrill of catching a wave
The feel of the board cutting through the water
The acceleration as the curl builds

And, yes
Even the tumult
When the sea punishes me
For my errors

But I love too

The moments between waves
The calm quiet introspection
Gentle swells sway me
An ocean hammock in the breeze

Take a deep breath
And another
Feel my resting heart beat
In a state of peace

Here am I
Rapt in my own presence
In time with the rhythm
Of nature

Some days
I prefer these long deep breaths
Over the exhilaration
Of a racing heart

So I paddle out
Sit with my being for a while
Then paddle back in
At peace with the world

And myself

Continue reading Surf ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #337
Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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Billowing Grasses, Gold Beach, Oregon, United States of America

Billowing ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #329

I cut a path through the long grass billowing
Well off the trail the others had tread
And composed there a scene
Few travellers would see

Footfalls through the dunes
Skies grey as the sand
And blackened monoliths
Tossed about like stones
From a small child’s hand

There, in the buffeting wind
Amidst the storm-sodden grass
Shielding the lens
From the rain and debris
I gathered dim light
Small hope had I
This photo could be…

Worth soggy shoes
And cold, wetted socks
My pants would drip water
Later
When twisted in knots

First, back to the car
All shivering raw
Engine now running
With hands to the heater
Hoping to thaw

Now months and months later
At home nice and warm
Editing photos I took in a storm
To my delight I discover
They came out… alright

Continue reading Billowing ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #329
Poetry by Patrick Jennings
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Deep Valley, Navajo Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Utah, United States of America

Grand ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #323

I stand upon this grandest rim
Try to imagine unthinkable time
Relent before too long such fruitless task
Instead I’ll contemplate this lazy little rhyme

Through the plateau
The Colorado pickaxe falls
Reveals sedimental sandstone rings
The eons marked on canyon walls

Rock bottom finds the hardest rock
Twelve hundred meters down below
There an ancient granite shield
No deeper can the river go

But wider still
The river’s reach
A force of will
The cliffs be breached

Upstream the river
Has not yet found
The basement rock
So burrows still into the ground

Continue reading Grand ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #323