At evening with a heavy heart
I’d had enough of talk.
My mind’s reflections overwrought
I left the house to walk.
I came across it quite by chance
Whilst ambling by the sea.
I’d hoped to clear my head of doubt,
To find some certainty.
I dimly saw the trail ahead
Climbing to my right,
A Pilgrims’ Way to paradise;
It was not there last night.
Its pebbles seemed to call to me
To follow where they led;
To seek their end where ere that be,
Pursue them without dread.
Their blue and red encouraged me,
Spoke to me of hope,
Of everlasting certitude,
The means by which I’d cope.
They led me on beside the sea,
Meandered to and fro
Until abruptly then they ceased;
In front a golden glow.
The certainty I’d hoped to find
Was there in front of me;
A testament to Nature’s Grace –
The Glory of the Sea.
A feeling of contentment spread
Throughout my fatigued mind.
My body too relaxed in peace,
Resentment left behind.
I’d found what I was searching for,
Afforded by that path
Of coloured pebbles on the shore;
My soul’s search aftermath.
Both photographs were taken by me (WHB) one evening in 2009
along the seashore of the English Channel at Swanage, Dorset, UK.
Roland's Ragbag 