March Musings 23: Phone Poem

Last weekend, fellow slicer, Laurie Pandorf, created a phone poem that she saw at Rose Cappelli's slice, who got the idea for the format from Jo Knowles in 59 Reasons to Write.

The Assignment:
Create a poem using your phone number.

The How-to: 

Pick a theme, then write your phone number down the length of the page. Each number represents how many words you should have on that line. A zero is a wild card so you can choose as many words as you like for that line.

My Theme: The ocean, nature's gift

My Poem: Winter Wonder

5     Ocean splashing against the jetty -
1      Dazzling,
6     Like sparkling diamonds across the sea
7     I stare into its sweeping, unfathomable depth
6     Unable to predict its volume or extent.
3     It's cresting movement
1      Surges,
1      Swells,
6     As winter winds chill the shore.
0    Ocean power takes my breath away.

My Reflection:

I added an original photo to this format to remind me of the sensations I felt when I recently traveled to the beach. Since I had not been there in months, I asked my husband to walk down to the ocean with me, instead of just staying on the boardwalk. There, at seaside, I witnessed the turbulence and beauty of nature's gift  to Long Island. 

While taking photos, the wind was kicking up and my hands were cold but the sun was shining brightly providing a sense of warmth that really did not exist. It was an exhilarating feeling being at the shore next to great, expansive body of water on a cold, windy day. 

I was not the only one who felt this exuberance. A young man was running shirtless on the boardwalk. While he looked comfortable, I was zipping up my hood to stay warm. At seaside, I came upon a little girl who was merrily walking in the sand with her bare feet. I stopped to talk to her but all she wanted to do was dig her toes further into the sand. A few feet behind her was her mother whom I engaged in conversation. She told me that this was her four year old's first trip to the ocean so she was very excited and probably overwhelmed. I wished her well and then caught up with my husband. Before returning to the boardwalk, we chatted about the shoeless mother and daughter who were delighted with the ocean setting and not at all daunted by the cold winds. Long Beach in the winter provides a different perspective on the beach's appeal.

This post is the twenty-third in a series titled March Musings 

for Two Writing Teachers' March Slice of Life Story Challenge.