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THE ISLE OF MAY

Submitted by Tam the Chanter on Tue, 2012-08-21 07:18

THE ISLE OF MAY By Ian Thomson

Weekend break with friends, we travel
To the place I spent my youth
Beaches; sand and rock and gravel,
Villages with pan tile roofs.

Arrive in Anstruther - it's raining
Waves are breaking on sea - wall,
Same all over, no complaining
Scottish summer? dodging squalls!

Saturday we walk the coast path,
In the rain to Elie bay
Cheering up with Sunday forecast,
Dull but dry for Isle of May!

Moored tight by the lifeboat station,
"May Princess" was boarding, full
Luckily, four cancellations
Weather now calm, dry and cool.

As we near this birders' Eden
Puffins number more and more.
Beaks hold sand-eels, for chick's feeding
Heading for May Island shore.

Gannet squadrons wheeling, diving,
Each dive worth Olympic gold.
Fat grey seals bask on the tide line
With that blubber, never cold.

"May Princess" ties up on island,
We disembark to see the birds.
Arctic Terns claim any dry land
Noise is too intense for words.

Cacophony of seabirds' screaming,
Kittiwakes with endless cries
Puffins seem to be unheeding
Of the chaos in the skies.

All too soon it's time to catch tide
Leave nesting birds in wild terrain
Where Eider duck lie by the path - side
Next year we'll be back again!

Style / type: 
Structured: Western
Review Request (Intensity): 
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Last few words: 
The Isle of May is a small island off the coast of Fife , in Scotland, in the Firth of Forth. At one point in time the site of a priory which was often attacked by Vikings. It is now home to a large, breeding sea - bird colony, and is well worth a visit from anyone on holiday in this beautiful part of the Fife coast. This area is known as the "East Neuk" of Fife ( neuk = corner ) and also has some old golf course in St. Andrews. I have visited the island quite often and always enjoyed it.
Editing stage: 
Editing - rough draft
Workshop: 
Rhyme Crimes

Comments

Ian.T

Tue, 2012-08-21 11:00

Ian.T's picture
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A place I would love to visit, thank you for the travel and I didn't have to pay LOL. Good picture of a beautiful place.."I love Fife"
I expect that there are a few poems there hiding from the past, for a Tam
to grasp and relay to us,
Yours Ian.T

.
There are a million reasons to believe in yourself,
So find more reasons to believe in others..

Tam the Chanter

Wed, 2012-08-22 09:36

Tam the Chanter's picture

Thanks for the input, Ian, glad you liked it. We were there in mid-June an ideal time for watching the Puffins. I would recommend the place to anybody, it's great.

Ian

TIME FLIES LIKE AN ARROW, BUT FRUIT FLIES LIKE A BANANA

author comment

weirdelf

Wed, 2012-08-22 09:16

weirdelf's picture
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It works well for a final piece in the workshop.

As a poem it is beautiful. It touched me in subtle ways, but you know it's not the aggressive, challenging poetry I like. My problem, not yours, each poetry, except the really bad, has people who will be touched and moved by it.

What can I say except this workshop is already finished. Too late.

Doesn't matter, the poem stands on its own and is a superior piece of yours.

I could quibble a few word choices, but you don't want to here them and they are pedantic anyway.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

Tam the Chanter

Wed, 2012-08-22 09:39

Tam the Chanter's picture

Jess, you made my day. I'm so pleased that you liked it and look forward to the next workshop. Thanks.

Ian

TIME FLIES LIKE AN ARROW, BUT FRUIT FLIES LIKE A BANANA

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