Ocean Grove beach. By Paul Goldfinger © Click to enlarge.
Hi Paul:
Greetings again from Manhattan. In late summer, I like to visit Ocean Grove and watch the surf casters, with their long rods and spinning reels, working on the shore, usually alone, hurling their lures far into the dark Atlantic, and then waiting patiently for the bluefish, striped bass, or other gift the ocean might offer up. Here is a poem, “The Surf Caster,” from my collection, Father of Water.
Best wishes,
Charles Pierre
Charles Pierre. 2009. Photo by Marcella Kerr
The Surf Caster
The fine line that keeps him connected to the depths
runs long into the night, a translucent filament
of strength through the dark and turbulent surf.
How quietly it flows from shore to ocean floor,
from his practiced wrist along the flexing rod,
as each tug of the tide, each questioning nibble
and answering jig, pulses through the eye loops
down to the spooling reel. He probes the ocean
with a lure of his own devising, charm and hook
tooled not for local fish but the far-swimming schools.
A slight vibration and his line now sparkles
with wetness in the glow of phosphor water,
humming in the summer wind, radiating a soft mist,
a sign of something below, something other than
the common catch, something only he would know.
BILL FRISELL “Across the Universe.” From the album “All We Are Saying” (2011)
I love this poem. Charles Pierre is like the poet laureate of Ocean Grove. His sensitivity to the experience of surf fishing is so special. He is a man who loves the ocean and the events that occur at the shore.
He shows us that our minds can find amazing things in the worlds we occupy if only we pause and reflect. We may not be able to discover the poets words, but we can identify new ways of perceiving ordinary experiences, as Lee Morgan pointed out in his preface to Mary Oliver’s snow poem which we recently posted.
We are so fortunate to have Charles Pierre allow the re-publication of his work on Blogfinger.
We welcome other poets or poems as well; but Charles has set a high bar, and we will respect that. After all, one is judged by the company he keeps,and that includes blogs that feature the arts including poetry, writing, music, photography, and even journalism.
But don’t let this statement intimidate anybody. If you have something to offer us, go ahead and send it.
—-Paul @Blogfinger