Cape Cod Poetry: Check out 'Cranberry Duck' and the photo that inspired the poem
Patricia Chaffee imagines the life of a dune shack sitting nestled in the sand, a beacon to writers looking for solitude and inspiration.
A wave unfurling on the shore brings with it a new perspective for poet Ron Zweig.
DJ Foley’s husband, Jack Foley, captured a photo of a duck swimming surrounded by cranberries ― and it in turn inspired her poem.
James Langon took time to let nature take over his senses and it was “in that tranquil setting that I could feel the veil that separates us from the spirit of the natural world slip away.”
On more of a workaday note, but mightily valuable, Marietta Nilson reminds us how a clean desk can banish a chaotic day.
These are this month’s offerings from winners chosen in October for the monthly Cape Cod Times Poetry Contest. Enjoy the poems they have shared and how they reflect on the world that is Cape Cod.
If you would like to enter a poem into the Cape Cod Times monthly poetry contest, the guidelines are listed below. Judging is done by an independent panel of published poets.
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Patricia Ann Chaffee is an award-winning freelance writer and poet. She resides in Connecticut and considers Cape Cod her second home.
I’m a Dune Shack
By Patricia Chaffee
Sanctuary - Stillness
A landscape ever-shifting
Habitats of solitude
Bare essential dwellings
Emptiness, yet full of life
Days and nights, they come and go
Pondering creations majesty
So much room to grow
Artistic endeavors
Reveal themselves
Muses on the loose
In every corner, nook and shelf
Heart and soul discovered
In these shelters by the shore
Ensconced with great tradition
In jeopardy, once more
Can we honor
The place they hold
For families and artists near and far
Can we be so bold?
Melding together, surf, sand and shack
They mean so much to those who come
Kerouac, Oliver, O’Neil and Pollock
Dune Shack dwellers, every one
Taken in by the organic beauty
Entranced by every thing
Circles in the sand, a dune grass wand
The art of uber-simple living
Inspiration does its dance
In this mystical place
Where enormous things are possible
Within this minimalist space
A play, a poem, a painting born
Amidst rolling dunes and fresh salt air
Yes, I’ve a Dune Shack in my bones
Even though I’ve never been there
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Ron Zweig resides in Woods Hole near Nobska Light. Initially, he did research at MBL followed by a decade at the New Alchemy Institute in Falmouth. Later, he worked for years in Asia on water resources management for United Nations agencies and the World Bank. His broad interest in the arts started in his youth and, regarding poetry, was first influenced by Robert Frost.
Inspiration for "At the Edge": Even with having lived and worked mostly at the edge of the sea, sudden new awareness recently arose while I absentmindedly observed incoming waves. That new realization brought me to the place from where knowledge grows and “At the Edge” emerged.
At the Edge
By Ron Zweig
a wave rolls in cooling the sand that further up
presses against my hand dry and warm
in the grains tiny prisms sparkle
while intertidal stones clack as the wave rolls back
wind-driven and strengthened – glistening
water cycles in turbulence at the sea’s edge
yes, the same water tumbles in place over and over
energized by distant and nearby forces as they come ashore
another wave crests toward me ― crashes, surges, recedes
resonantly rounding the ever-changing rocks
the repetition is as hypnotically calming as it is mesmerizing
flow and ebb, one after another in radiant warmth
thoughts emerge within the oneness of the moment
from a forceful matrix of past and recent memories
that bring me to a moment of new awareness
spiraling outward from what I already know
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DJ Foley writes that she is "a washashore living happily in Harwich enjoying the paradise that is ours and writing poems about it. We have it all; the sea, mother nature, people (fewer in the winter), active community programs. What more could we ask for?"
Cranberry Duck
By DJ Foley
Cranberry clouds
in deep blue
almost navy
Bog reflects sky
Mallard hen
cuts through bobbing berries
weaves watery trail
Quacks quietly to herself
as she samples
hidden stems
shuns tart fruit
Her comment on
traditional flavor
that graces
many a holiday table
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James Langon writes, "I am a retired English teacher and technical writer. While working for a Hyannis-based software company, I became involved with a group of poets who met regularly in the historic Guyer Barn.
"During that time I would often drive to the end of Mary Dunn Road, to just sit and meditate, looking out across Barnstable Inlet. It was in that tranquil setting that I could feel the veil that separates us from the spirit of the natural world slip away."
Transitions (Solstice)
By James Langon
Do you see the watersof the inlet spreadlike a silk cloth on a table?
Gulls skimming tidal poolsspiral in the air droppingmussels on the beach below
where they will lie black,shining secrets in the silencingsnow that will cover them.
Can you feel the snowin the quiet of the day;snow that will bring sleep?
Do you feel the sleepin the slow suckof water from the soil,
sense it in your eyesgrown heavyin this bleary sun?
Do you wish to closeyour lashes as this dry beach grassfolds upon itself?
Close your eyes and seehow silently the earthmoves onwithout you.
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Realtor Marietta Nilson, named for grandmothers Rosetta Glynn and Mary Derwin, lives in Harwich, her hometown.
Paper Chase
By Marietta Nilson
I can’t work in chaos
What’s a creative person to do?
I’m going to clean my desk.
My mind tells me I need space
But can I open mail and write, too?
I can’t work in chaos
This is a conflict I must face.
Look at what I’ve turned into.
I’m going to clean my desk.
This desk must offer empty space.
I know a paper purge is overdue.
I can’t work in chaos.
I’ll summon my muse in case
There are rhymes I need to redo.
I’m going to clean my desk.
For me this is a perpetual chase.
How do I compare to you?
I can’t work in chaos
I’m going to clean my desk.
How to submit a poem to the Cape Cod Times
Here’s how to send us your work:
Submit one poem single-spaced, of 35 lines or fewer per month.
Poems cannot be previously published (in print or online).
Deadline for submission is Dec. 1, 2023.
Submit by email to cctpoetry12@gmail.com.
Poems should be free of hate speech and expletives (profanity, vulgarity, obscenity).
In the body of the e-mail, send your contact information: name, address, phone number and title of poem; then, in a Word Doc attachment, include poem without name or any other personal info, so that the poem can be judged anonymously.
Poets not previously published in the Cape Cod Times are welcome to submit a new poem each month.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod Poetry: Monthly poetry contest winners
