Showing posts with label Walt Whitman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walt Whitman. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

On the Beach at Night, Alone. (Puerto Rico)


Last night I went for a walk on the beach... alone... but for my camera and made this photograph. I titled it, "Five Posts."

I left the Lemontree just before sunset and stayed on the seashore, photographing, watching, experiencing the night fall on the sea. As I watched and waited, I recalled a couple of poems by Walt Whitman... one of which is the same as the title of this entry. I looked up the first lines of the poem which go:

"ON the beach at night alone,
As the old mother sways her to and fro, singing her husky song,
As I watch the bright stars shining—I think a thought of the clef of the universes, and of
the future."


You can read the entire poem here.

I may not have thought of the clef of the universe but the walk back in the dark... with the tide rising... and dinner waiting, was cleansing. The beach was deserted. A soft breeze rustled a the leaves of the trees along the shore and it was if they were coming along home with me like a faithful dog keeping his master company. The stillness of the night, the sound of the heartbeat of the sea, the feel of the cool, the night air... and then, I was home.