A Man Praises the Sea by Robert Nisbet

Along the prom in a small university town,
a man praises the sea.
The vestiges of waves drift and sink
upon the brown-ish sand.
Beyond them, horizons on,
the noise of bird and storm,
but within that noise, silence.
Through ocean and the Irish Sea,
those marathons of silence.
Ashore, the beach, the prom,
and children paddle, students posture,
holiday people drink and talk.
Here are the gulls’ yell
and the rattling tills of happiness,
the man praising.

*A version of this poem appeared in Orbis (UK, 2012)

Robert Nisbet is a poet from Wales who has over 500 poems published in Britain and the USA, in magazines like San Pedro River Review, Third Wednesday and Burningword Literary Journal. He is a four-time Pushcart nominee.