Day 7 of Jane Dougherty’s A Month with Yeats poetry challenge and today’s inspirational quote from WB is: ‘…stars, grown old in dancing silver-sandalled on the sea, sing in their high and lonely melody…’
To join in the creativity or just to discover Jane’s gentle genius, her blog link is: https://janedougherty.wordpress.com/category/poetry-2/
My poem today is called THROUGH THE SANDS
And when they danced
she would hold him, her
perfume by his face, his
hands as her strength
as they waltzed through
their current as the tides
swept the shore, through
love and labor, to the first born,
still born, through the twins
who stopped the tears
and the girls who tied
the bows as the sands slipped
through time and the pace
became a quick step, through
the hands that held and those
hips that swayed through
the melody they were making
as they danced through
waves of washing houses
into homes, children into
strangers; rarely calling
and barely remembering
but on they danced as red
locks swept into silver strands,
as full head turned to bald head
on an older head as they turned
to the music now made
in the memory, till she left him,
finally, one morning in may,
as he rose to the sunlight but
she had lost to the moonlight
and so he built her an alter
of sea shells and sentiments
and now he turns, alone, across
the sands still slipping,
as the stars plot a path for him
to reach her in eternity.
All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 
Damien, this is really special. I could see it. You’ve made me shiver. Really something.
Thank you Sarah. I really wanted to try and paint a picture of a life connected and continuing despite the circumstances. Thank you for enjoying it and sorry about the shivers 🤗
They were good shivers…
That is so sad. Few poems make me want to cry, but this one did. And what is this with the swaying hips? Everybody’s at it!
My two favorite things in life- making people laugh and making people cry- emotional cleansing!! The hips are taking over!!!
They certainly are! I think that makes four if not five sets of swaying hips for that last prompt alone!
Such a sad, poignant poem.
” as the stars plot a path for him
to reach her in eternity” – haunting.
Thanks my dear, sad with a sway of hope, regardless 🤗
Powerful. Life’s dance. (K)
Thanks Kerfe! Let’s keep dancing!!!
Always!
Oh my! Poignant. I feel like I watched their entire journey together–like a movie. This is a wonderful poem, Damien.
Thank you Merril!! ☺️🤗
You’re welcome! 🙂