Tag Archives: azores

Pico

Azores, beauty, nature, poem, Poetry, , , , , , ,

Dawn breaks the sky
raw light floods island & ocean
All birdsong ceases for just the moment
when day is painted over night
colour returns to us
a breeze slowly lifts
the sun soars, reaching for this speck of land
in ocean immensity
 
Pico, veiled in high cloud
crenulated by sister cones
looms soft purple & charcoal across the strait
diva of the skies, demanding attention
holding the gaze
stately hot tempered grand dame
always beautiful, subtly threatening

Copyright © 2022 Kim Whysall-Hammond

Another poem about the Azores, I must return soon……

Boundless

Azores, Life, nature, poem, Poetry, , , ,

The taut freedom of my swimming costume
in choppy ocean swell
water embraces me, breeze strokes
I float in a bath of sunlight

Boundless blue ocean surrounds
as I plunge into its secrets
the only sound the bubbles
of my breathing
in and out of the snorkel

A furious scrum of fishes
contesting over I know not what
eagle rays glide above
Atlantic swell buffets
dolphins sway and swerve
deep below

Copyright © 2016 Kim Whysall-Hammond

And somehow the ocean

Azores, nature, poem, Poetry, , ,

Sun glints pierce my eyes
as we hit another wave
rise
slide into the trough
at the apogee
our horizon is limitless
oceanic expanse
seemingly bereft of life
the unharvestable blue
then the cackle of dolphins
arrests our attention
away from the discipline of waves

Snub noses pierce the surface
laughing beeps beckon
closeby then further into the swell
we hesitate and a challenge is issued
repeatedly
until we speed up and run alongside
then within
an enormous crowd
of joyous fellows

Copyright © 2020 Kim Whysall-Hammond

Fresh strengthening winds

Azores, poem, Poetry, , , ,

Fresh strengthening winds from the north roughen the open ocean
Our small boat slams into waves that grow in size, our fear also grows
Dolphins come alongside, chatter and leap, make a game of it all

Copyright © 2021 Kim Whysall-Hammond

This poem is my attempt at sing the sijo form. Sijo is a traditional Korean poetry form. It has three lines, like haiku, and the lines are 14-16 syllables. The themes can be natural, spiritual or humorous.

Thank you Rebecca for your poetry Challenge that introduced me to this form.

https://fakeflamenco.com/2021/04/13/april-2021-sijo-poetry-challenge/

The photo on this blog was taken by my then 12 year old son, on the trip the poem describes……

Eruption

Azores, poem, Poetry, , , , ,

Soft bright colour on your roof
pegged to dry in ocean breeze
flying high on the blue

The mountain bursts, vomits fire and ash
ash that drifts, soft as snow

There, on your washing
an eyelash width of coal
another and another
speckles and chars

You are running to the boats
not stopping to breathe

Later, panic over, you return to
bring in your cloths of bright colour
see little mouths burnt through
black lipped, gasping

The mountain glows with lava
makes a second dawn each night

You wrap your damaged goods around you
sleep by the door
heaped in fear

Copyright © 2021 Kim Whysall-Hammond

Sharing with earthweal’s Open Link Weekend.

Kayak

Azores, poem, Poetry, , ,

Sunlit morning, wide beckoning bay,
Our kayaks slip off the small beach into the sea
I reach and stab at the water to keep pace with my sons
Braced in the kayak, steering into the waves,
Paddling one push at a time, we head for the ocean
Waves lift us and shake us, spray intoxicates as it spatters a face
Bright sun dazzles from wave tops and the open water beckons
To port, excited shouts as surfer meets water meets rock
Here, concentration as kayak cleaves water
The rhythm of the paddle calms my fears of capsizing
And I breast a wave exhilarated and happy
Woman, kayak and ocean

Copyright © 2016 Kim Whysall-Hammond