A Wistful Ode to Yesteryears
Out on the beachside balcony
I’m just there — Standing, staring
I’m watching the ocean just after dawn
trying to get my bearings
A sea-salty wind blows towards me
The curtains float in the breeze
I’m reminded of the family vacations
we used to take with ease
My emotions stir, emboldened
My heart all confused and aflutter
Each trip gets increasingly harder
How many more times will there be another?
This silent worry weighs on me
One day, this will all be no more
Sentimental places will be left behind
along with the Emerald Isle shore
No more evening hot tub dips
No more ferry rides
No more low tide seashell hunting
No more tanning by the poolside
Goodbye to my mom’s childhood homes
Goodbye to Dewey’s bakery
Goodbye to all the restaurants we love
Goodbye to all the sightseeing
I won’t get anymore tacky shirts
I won’t get anymore beach souvenirs
I won’t be able to have that fun
that I’ve enjoyed in yesteryears
This inevitable reality
leaves me sorrowful and wistful
as I stare out at the rising sun
The scene is serene and blissful
Over the sound of the crashing waves
my mom calls out to me
She tells me there’s one hour left
before we have to leave
I say “Okay” then turn back around
I’m already completely packed
I chose to spend the last of this time
praying that we’ll eventually come back
Soon enough it was time to go
I tried my best not to cry
Knowing that I might never come back
I left and said goodbye
About this poem
Almost every summer, for many years, my family and I go on a road trip to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, but with my grandfather’s physical condition worsening, and money becoming scarcer, I fear that somewhere in the not-too-distant future, my family will be forced to stop taking these road trips.
Written on November 20, 2021
Submitted by eimckernan on April 03, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:22 min read
- 44 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXC ADXD XEEE AFXF XXBX XAXB XXGC AHGH XAXX XXXI XJIJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,463 |
Words | 275 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Wistful Ode to Yesteryears" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/126248/a-wistful-ode-to-yesteryears>.
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