By the dunes along the shifting beach
Water’s waiting within dreamers’ reach.
Take this path or choose to take another.
Hear the secrets silence has to teach.
Text: Linked to dVerse Meeting the Bar. I am hosting today.
The challenge is to write a rubaiyat or some variation on that form. The example here is in iambic pentameter, four lines and rhyming AABA. There is only one rubai. Variations for this challenge could be anything the poet doesn’t mind calling a “rubaiyat”.
Photos: “Lake Michigan Shore”, above, “Along the Way”, below.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 
Loved the combination of text and pictures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Danik!
LikeLike
I LOVE this….the silence harbors the secrets….I do love the serenity of this. Quite the challenge, Frank. For me, it’s always a sudoku when we’re asked to do iambic pentameter!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You did very well, Lillian, on yours! I sometimes find iambic pentameter like a puzzle as well. I tend to prefer the sound of three or four rather than five beats per line.
LikeLike
Yes, exactly. I’m glad it’s not just me! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like “Hear the secrets silence has to teach.” Great photos, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Dan! I just got back from a walk in the local forest preserve.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I especially love the choice of paths which is free… maybe it’s the walking itself that matter not where we end up if we listen to the silence.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It probably is just the walking and sometimes I don’t care where I go. Thank you, Bjorn!
LikeLike
You have a good ear for metre, Frank, and this form suits you very well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jane! You write metrical verse very well. The sound is always pleasurable.
LikeLike
Thank you! I listen to the words in my head.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A LiFE TiME TaKinG
ALL WiTHiN
SiLeNCE
ToTaL
FoCuS
GoD
iS oN
ATeLePHoNELiNE
RinGinG oUt PaRTNoWUnDeRNeaTH
oFaLLoNELiFEaSUniVerSENoWMoREWHoLE
OTHeR tHan tHat Happy Thursday FranK NoW..:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy Thursday, Fred! And thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thursday
Dances
Free on..:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful, Frank!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
So nicely done, Frank, and beautifully illustrated. I love that final line!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am glad you liked that line. Thank you, Kim!
LikeLiked by 1 person
These waiting waters are always inviting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They are inviting. Thank you, Vivian!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The teaching of silence is a most interesting concept! Very smooth Frank!
dwight
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Dwight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is wonderful, “hear the secrets silences has to teach”. That sounds like a great place to learn them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Although there are sounds, it often feels like pure silence. Thank you, Walter!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been a while since I took a walk on a beach, good for you 😁!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Silence has many lessons! Nice poem!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It has many lessons. Thank you, Mary!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Intriguing how the focus is not on which path one takes (as is so often the case in moral philosophy) but in the silence that is to be heard/felt on all of the paths.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t thought of that. As far as walking goes it doesn’t matter as much, but a choice has to be made. Thank you, Amaya!
LikeLike
Lovely photos and poem, Frank. I like the idea that it’s there within reach, we just have to listen to the silence around us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There is a lot in our reach. Thank you, Merril!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A peaceful quiet walk along the dunes…enjoyed this, Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Lynn!
LikeLike
Nice going Frank. I like any writing about the beach.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The beach is great. Thank you, Kathy!
LikeLike
a beautiful walk
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Candy!
LikeLike
Excellent piece. Your last line is stunning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Eugenia!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely Frank. Whichever path we take silence can be a great teacher, if we can truly find it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are always some sounds, but compared to the street, it sounds like silence. Thank you, Paul!
LikeLike