There was one in particular that I wrote after going to the ocean in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, at the invitation of my college room mate, Pat, and his family.
I had not seen the ocean in my adult life at that point. I had dim memories of it from a child, but not much. We left Syracuse at about 10PM and drove through the night to arrive at a small harbor near where Pat's family rented a cottage on the beach of Saco Bay.
There, as the sun rose and we shook off the chill of night driving and stretched our legs, I saw the most amazing 15 minutes of sunrise up to that point in my life. Seals, gulls, wharf cats, the sweet grass and salt smell of a tidal marsh - and the sun woke all of it and brought it to life as it has done every day since we climbed from the sea.
I took a picture using a borrowed camera and when I developed it, saw that it faithfully captured the mood. I would make a print of it and give it to Pat as a thank you note when I got the chance. I wasn't happy with just that, though, so I sketched out this poem to go with it, put it in a hinged double frame, and gave it to him for Christmas that year.
After the fire I searched my parents' house to see if they had a copy. My father sent me a box full of all the things he had that I'd written. Neither source had my masterpiece. I remembered Pat had it, though, so I sent him an email, requesting a copy. He said it was buried in his attic during remodeling and it would be some time before could send it to me. Ten years later, here it is. I only regret one thing about writing it - that I included no sense of that sweet smell of the tide rushing inland. I catch a glimpse of it when I have oysters, though.
