Lulling Lulworth…
(Reacting to Sarah Ball’s artwork.)
The curious cove has lured a small vessel
Into its gaping, innocuous, curved haven,
Lulled into lingering and sheltering off-guard,
In a presumption of safety,
Yet vulnerable, fallible,
Like an unsuspecting sea bass soon to be hauled into a net,
Or a heedless fly upon a spider’s gossamer web,
Terrible, infallible…
And the cliff face leers, not craven
But delegating its evil intent upon an apron tide, scrawled
Upon by turquoise, infused by cobalt streaks
And peacock-blue, as it rounds and bounds past outcrops
Of rock, skirting and diverting until it cowers upon beach sand,
Scarred by detritus and weed and driftwood,
Subservient, awaiting orders from its master…
At length the sea will rise around the boat,
Drag at it and toss it around,
As it struggles and thrashes, like the sea-bass and the fly;
Yet in vain it fights to remain afloat,
Until it tires and is thrown aground
Beneath the cliff beast’s evil, sated sigh…
Pete Ray
April 2019
Sarah Ball’s painting of Lulworth Cove made me think of evil intentions.
The harsh cliff face, the beautiful but angry sea and a threat to the small boat.
The shape of the seashore reminded me of a large fishing net, or a spider’s web, hence my words.
Below are images I took in Lulworth 15 years back and one is strikingly similar to the artwork…
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.