Sea of Moods

". . .every day on the balcony of the sea,

wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning."               
". . .and the water is so busy
with all its blue business
that arrivals go unrealized.
The waves keep up their song."
- Pablo Neruda




Pablo Neruda held a fascination for the sea. It became a metaphor for his emotions and travels.  In his Isla Negra, he meditated on the nearness of blue.

During my morning runs, the sea behaves in a stroll of moods. Its animation stretches my senses.  Some days the wave action reflects a satin stillness. In a moment,  mounds appear as if a cat has arched its back, pushed forward and then returned to horizontal. Other days the sprindrift curls off  a wave's crest like cat claws extended and hidden during movement toward the shore. 

Water moves in a celadon glaze of Chinese porcelain. It reveals a transparency where orange fish swim.  A change in season promotes rupture and urgency.  Angry in sapphire, wave action polishes the sandstone.  Slush and slap push water in cacophony or symphony. Carried on a mist of salt, scents of cinnamon rolls and coffee mingle on sun-enchanted breezes.

The sea might match my mood or cause me to question my morning's emotions. Imagination tickles each breath untilI notice an elegance of seahorses driven in harnass. In an instant they turn into scrambled egg whites.  Breakfast calls.

Creative Write:  Take time by the sea to notice the changing colors of blue. Observe the shapes and sizes of waves. Let your fancy wander and write with the flow.

Pounce for Words

I tried to catch a photograph of the brown pelicans as they sailed over my head during a morning run yesterday.  My camera did not adjust in time.  Woosh, they soared beyond my camera's eye. Waves surged and bubbled along the rocks but I only captured blurs.  I kept running and listened to drums of surf and breathed the spindrift. The wind brought scents of muffins. When timing seems off,  I move into other senses.

Once in a while I will feel this way when deciding to focus on a piece of writing.  If I chase my subject I might miss the details that surround it. A pull back and patience always help.  I discover a new approach or another subject to consider.

This experience occurred as I noticed a cat posed like a pointer dog.  I could not tell just what it saw.  Nothing moved or wriggled ahead of it.  I felt its intrigue and my eagerness slowed to match its patience.  Five minutes passed as I approached and rustled the camera out of my fanny pack. I could feel a pounce would occur any second. 

Then. . . click and miss.  I looked at the photograph on the screen and by chance my camera had taken a second shot.  Usually these turn out of my hands and feet.  This second shot captured the pounce.  The camera had rewarded my patience.

Creative Write: Take time  and become patient with your words today.  You may have to wait  through your freewrite until some idea takes you in a different direction.  Let that happen.  Then pounce on words!