Read an Excerpt

Sea, Sands, Poems, Pictures

---

By Tracy Ferguson Cooper

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Cooper and Romagnoli
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4634-0560-1

---

Chapter One

    Hush! Twilight Speaks

    Hush! Twilight speaks

    Revere her

    Behold her
    Orange cranberry sky with your eyes
    Perceive her undying beauty
    Waning yet undefiled ...

    She strikes a chord
    For romance
    while she and evening engage
    in a soft sweet gentle dance
    exchanging day for night ...

    Apprehending each other's light ...

    Harmony exists while surrender is bliss

    Shhhh ...


    Old Man Healing

    I am old now
    I recall times when the world
    was simpler
    those days held no contempt
    people were just people
    nowadays people are more ...
    cold and cunning ...
    deceitful ...
    unreachable ...

    My wife left me for Heaven ...
    it's been twenty years she's been gone ...
    my children won't have anything to do with me ...
    I started drinking ... but now I'm clean ...
    yet we're still estranged ...

    I wasted a lot of time being angry,
    lonely
    and not getting on with it

    And yes, I have regret ...

    However!

    This is my sanctuary.
    The sea
    as wide as my
    thirsty sorrow,
    quenches me.

    Now
    though the salt stings
    it heals me internally
    and with help from above ...
    eternally.


    Speedy Footsteps

    Speedy footsteps
    etched in the sand
    leading to the waiting sea
    of those with hearts anticipating
    eagerly ready to splash ...

    ready to bathe
    and to waves becomes attached ...
    so ready to play ...

    Swim, surf in the waters
    that wet the coast of the sandy earth ...
    speedy footsteps to the waiting sea
    as in the motion
    and tranquility of the wave

    they become immersed
    they satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst ...

    speedy footsteps to the waiting sea.


    Askance from the Sea

    Askance from the sea is the path
    that looks into the distance
    across the way just beyond the horizon

    Where routine resumes ...
    Hustle and bustle of the boardwalk
    Where congestion ensues ...

    No ocean views
    yet we cry no blues ...
    for when we turn around
    we keep what we see
    in our collective memory ...

    we know again
    we will once more
    view the sea.


    Old Boat by the Sea

    Left to ruin ... weather-beaten, washed ashore?
    A trinket, a treasure
    bearing blemishes, cracks ...
    some say eyesore ...
    yet the craft indigenous remains ...
    the vessel
    its presence isn't in vain ...
    one can only guess at its history ...
    one's mind can evoke fantastic imagery ...
    was it tossed to and fro,
    or in the storm did the course charted
    she maintain?
    why was she left?
    why is she wrecked ?
    did she ride waves high?
    did her occupants perish?
    what was her fame?
    on the sand by rocks and weeds
    she remains ...
    to what does her objectivity pertain?
    ... old boat by the sea.


    Four Hours Away

    Last night I heard gunshots ...
    it almost seems routine ...
    Now, four hours away ...
    I must pause at the beauty of the big blue ...
    instead of echoes of rat-a-tat-tat
    I hear the crashing of the waves upon sand ...
    I am relaxed not taxed
    Once more, my heart beats smoothly,
    all the torture of hard city
    I am able to release ...
    I smell the fragrance of the blue
    breeze I breathe ...
    I will return here
    with a fire that sears
    I will come here ...
    my refuge, as baggage I lose ...
    this peace I will choose
    four hours away
    to hold the craziness at bey
    four hours away
    I will travel to melt
    the madness that unravels away ...
    I will come again and again ...
    having a joy within ...
    just to pause, four hours away.


    Upon Me You Lay

    Upon me you laid hold
    when I thought I could be high
    as I could ever be
    after falling hard from a crack
    induced stupor ...
    hitting rock bottom ...
    with nowhere to go ...
    you gave me revival in that waking moment
    in a moment surreal ...
    overwhelmed by your awesomeness
    your quietness, peace revealed ...
    you gave me survival from a perpetual addiction
    I became healed ...
    what before seemed so desperate
    had no genuine appeal ...
    no longer seemed like a huge deal ...
    laying on that sandy shore
    gazing upon fluidity... tranquility ...
    contained more of a high
    so pure in every thread of my soul
    absorbed ...
    in one moment instantly you were touching me
    reaching me
    making me
    feel secure
    so now in the aftermath of reality
    your purity preserves me
    makes me endure ...
    ever since that day
    Upon me you lay
    I've been restored ... the beach 1994


    There Lies the Sea

    Overcast is the sky
    Hardly any pass by
    Upon the sand footsteps trodden
    but not fresh,
    but still there lies the sea,
    the sea beautiful so mysterious,
    the sea blowing mist,
    the sea where the ocean
    and beach kiss ...
    the sea when we're away
    we fondly reminisce,
    there, there lies the sea.


    Fences before Wonder

    Just around this fence
    Behold!
    Fine white sand
    This brush impedes
    But its presence
    Signals the beginning of
    the end of obstacles
    to myself and others.

    We all face different types of fences.
    However, once passed,

    the beginning of wonder,

    unspoiled like a soft flowing

    breeze from the ocean
    ... commences

    past our fences

    And all part of our lives

    Thus, always part of
    our entire picture.


    Good-bye, Good Night

    It's early
    not a soul around
    I wouldn't be missed
    I can go now
    right now
    to this wild wonder
    for something I'd be bound
    instead of under
    to let go
    to be a coward
    still it's better
    than not being loved
    when with promise
    up higher I'd go
    I'll flop in the undertow
    caution away I commence to throw
    good-bye, good night
    floating let them find me
    hoping for a life more kindly than this
    death that lover I'll kiss
    that pain I won't miss
    struggling
    sorrowfully to exist
    so I take a swig from my bottle of Jack
    swallow this pill
    as I prepare for conversion
    as I am now ready to be taken away
    for me now
    there is no other way
    good-bye, good night


    Eye Candy

    In the city
    they build they tear down
    in the hood chalk outline bodies on the
    ground
    but here at midnight or dawn
    stillness is found
    for me clearly
    I see a different view
    nothing sinister or gangster or
    underhanded do I want to do
    by the sound of waves crashing, am I
    sedated? I'm cooling
    in the picture perfect, God has created
    no doubt in this peace
    my spirit leaps, jumps, and shouts for joy!
    There's no dying going on
    by political correctness
    no lives destroyed
    no neighborhoods replaced by concrete
    steel and glass
    no one underage
    underdressed
    on the corner
    shaking her
    tail fast
    it's all good
    no one's packing
    no one's jacking
    no one's harassed
    and for a moment
    I am free
    yeah liberated
    by the smell of sea mist
    I am kissed elevated
    and it don't matter the routine
    it's not the same old scene
    for a moment
    I am not on edge
    because of this treasure I behold serene
    white sandy shorelines and water blue
    define this living dream


    Cruisin' on the PCH

    miles and miles of ribbon
    straight shot
    beach line abounds
    where do I stop what comes next
    am I in ecstasy from the driver's seat
    from city to town
    there's no missing of a beat
    scenery the sights
    senses they heighten
    I'm cruisin' on the PCH
    seems like I'm floating on a cloud
    at a stoplight I witness from a distance
    white sand and water teal
    perfectly aligned
    what is this
    picturesque
    a piece of Heaven
    I'm in awe of this surreal
    yet someone on me blows
    who can't dwell in this fine essence
    perhaps for them commonplace
    for me the perfect deal
    so I turn the wheel and the pedal I press to accelerate
    to the next locale
    maybe I'll rest there
    or go all the way to the end
    after awhile
    in a little bit
    drive back again
    cruisin' on the PCH


    A Family

    I see them, a family.
    Mom and
    four brothers
    Dad with the camera
    it's a pleasant scene; honest, pure, and sweet,
    bonding, sharing-love taking place
    sincerely expressed
    they're taking the time
    to be a thing of beauty
    I yearn this
    I so miss
    what I never knew
    from this grandeur
    this ideal
    my parents withdrew
    working for everything
    too worn, too tired
    working two jobs
    raising us
    we scarcely got by
    they did the best they could
    bless their souls this day
    now I'm a grown-up
    I want a family of my own
    to love, appreciate, and cherish.
    This is something I live for
    with someone decent and worthwhile
    a soul mate, a wife, a mother, a friend
    to love my children with
    down here at the seashore
    a family I long for
    I yearn
    a family.


    Easy

    all around me are going-ons
    kids running, laughing, screaming
    to the left a little ways down,
    a volleyball game has commenced
    with sights and sounds intense
    but it don't matter
    to me it's only white noise
    upon my lounge chair
    my front row seat
    I am recumbent ... poised
    'cause all I really see
    on what I'm focused
    all I vividly notice
    is my ocean view
    all I'm thinking
    is that there's nothing to do
    no errands
    no one to report to
    I'm chillin'
    gazing upon that beautiful water blue
    all I have to pursue
    is nothingness
    laziness
    in this I'm fully engaged
    yeah
    I'm easy


    Jam

    they are acrobatic
    they ride the waves and cheat the wind
    perhaps death defying
    daredevils
    flying and spinning and crashing
    they perform this art form
    it's smooth, they're groove
    spectacular!
    As they reach pinnacles skyward
    onlookers stand in awe,
    as they do what only they can do.
    Not having a single flaw
    seeming against forces of nature invincible.
    They thrive on pure adrenalin
    a rush incomparable!
    This an image
    for a viral video
    sport
    a song
    they rock
    they roll
    they jam!


    My Home Down by the Sea

    old town centuries existing
    down by the sea
    working-class
    laborers on the sea trade
    subsisting in austere harmony
    early to rise
    early to bed
    honest living
    they're all they're giving
    but for me
    a descendant
    an offspring
    this wasn't my dream
    I didn't continue the legacy
    I left my home
    to pursue other aspirations
    I left it all alone
    having no hesitation
    as success I did achieve
    but now letters from home
    phone calls too
    reveal old town
    seafaring
    isn't faring well at all
    I am grieved
    moved
    so I return
    to be of help
    support
    to my home
    which I have forsaken
    now my heart breaking
    so different
    now is this
    from the culture and prosperity
    I used to behold
    ties here
    I still hold
    I can't let go
    this is my home
    down by the sea


    I Wasn't Alone

    saw her on the pier
    a couple of slips down
    I waved the silent hello
    she smiled the pleasant smile
    from a distance I wondered
    if we were feeling the same
    if our spirits were akin
    if we knew the same loneliness
    the same pain
    same void
    refrain
    after a moment
    I made my way toward her
    I didn't know what would occur
    but an endeavor had to be made
    I tried fate
    after an awkward moment
    we began to converse
    small talk
    I persuaded her to join me for coffee
    we spent the morning together
    just talking, exhaling
    feeling better with total strangers
    seeming like close friends
    having no speculation or expectation
    just kindness we extend
    feeling whole again
    after we exchange numbers
    we go our separate ways
    but a few hours these many burdened days
    I don't know if I'll ever call
    but in that moment on the pier
    and that day so sincere
    made me see
    I wasn't alone


    Atlantic City (First Time Loser)

    for the first time
    I rolled the dice
    my luck was hot
    my appetite unquenchable
    but crash!
    I couldn't stop
    in desperation I burned it all
    with empty pockets I was trumped
    my savings evaporated
    temptation I yielded to
    thinking I'd recover
    thinking I'd make it through
    after betting it all I crapped out
    while I was winning
    I had swagger, arrogance, attitude,
    so I went on
    big payday I pursued
    with nothing to show in the end
    but disgrace
    after that I never went home
    so now in Atlantic City I roam
    homeless
    beach bum
    a vagabond
    washed up at the shore
    in Atlantic City
    first time loser

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Sea, Sands, Poems, Pictures by Tracy Ferguson Cooper Copyright © 2011 by Cooper and Romagnoli. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---