On seeing a piece of shoreline driftwood shaped like antlers
There could never have been a young stag
this far into the exposed and open air
not even a startled stray would cross the broad shingle spit
to graze on campion, poppy, false oat grass
and wonder at the lapping sea
no dainty, cloven hooves came this way
tentative - striking flint stones
the stranded antler was seaborne
stripped of its tell-tale bark
just a forked and bleached branchlet
I imagine it felled by October winds
dropped in an inlet, taken by storm
laid by the Spring tides on a pebble-dash bed
and in this oven of a high summer noon, the driftwood bakes
beneath its length, an outlined contour of cobalt
where the yellow waves cannot reach
and the speckled flint and chert
their sea sprayed sandy hues and livid blues
beached to infinity
an ekphrastic poem from memory as link up with the Tuesday Platform
PoetryPix 
Oh this is so good, Laura. More than a touch shamanic, but that last line ‘beached to infinity’ – a phrase with mind-altering substance!
high on memories – I can see the shamanic references now and I also hear a psalm coming through:
“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.
(Psalms 18:33)”
Oh that makes one’s spine tingle.
Such a lovely ekphrastic poem, Laura! ❤ I can picture the ‘bleached branchlet’ and feel those ‘October winds’… sigh .. You are a true Poet in every sense of the word. 😊
what encouraging words – thank you for hosting this too Sanaa
Yowzagood. Tactile. Textural. Sensoriffic !!!
Your adjectives sing! Many thanks
taken by storm
laid by the Spring tides on a pebble-dash bed
and in this oven of a high summer noon, the driftwood bakes
beneath its length, an outlined contour of cobalt
where the yellow waves cannot reach
I really like the strength of these words, the precise image it conjures, the sense of atmosphere, ambiance, – it has such a powerfully reflective quality and feel to it … very gripping.
Very nice feedback Pat – many thanks for that
A wonderful poem. I too wonder how the antler made it as far as it did. Sometimes you find one in the woods but usually nibbled down to a nub.
The clue is in the second verse 😉
The sense of wonderment is a thing of beauty — the second stanza is so well done; its reverberations and shifts are felt. So vivid, almost like one frame of a picture after another. A lovely ekphrastic verse; I love how it got you imagining and drawing from it.
-HA
‘drawing from it’ – great description of ekphrastic – thanks HA
Nature is an old, brilliant girl, who loves her art with humor and wit in it, isn’t she? I love that you let us discover the secret as you did, that we can “Oh!” at the reality while still keeping the sea-fairy-tale bright in our minds. This is stunning. Love the form.
am a great admirer of nature 😉 glad the denouement was not a let down for it has its own magic
Such a wonderful flow and sense of story telling in this piece
many thanks Jae Rose
Love it. Perfect poem.
many thanks John
A wonderful poem. at the risk of being repetitive to all that’s been said before – I wild say superlative
I appreciate your repetition Anya 🙂
Oh, this is delightful. It is spiritual, descriptive, and moving. I love how nature sinks into one’s pen and spills out in brilliant poetry.
lovely way you have with words Susie – very poetic feedback – many thanks