Winter surf in Oahu, Hawaii

Surf In Verse

The Surfer

by Judith Wright

He thrust his joy against the weight of the sea;
climbed through, slid under those long banks of
foam--
(hawthorn hedges in spring, thorns in the face stinging).
How his brown strength drove through the hollow and coil
of green-through weirs of water!
Muscle of arm thrust down long muscle of water;
and swimming so, went out of sight
where mortal, masterful, frail, the gulls went wheeling
in air as he in water, with delight.

Turn home, the sun goes down; swimmer, turn home.
Last leaf of gold vanishes from the sea-curve.
Take the big roller's shoulder, speed and serve;
come to the long beach home like a gull diving.

For on the sand the grey-wolf sea lies, snarling,
cold twilight wind splits the waves' hair and shows
the bones they worry in their wolf-teeth. O, wind blows
and sea crouches on sand, fawning and mouthing;
drops there and snatches again, drops and again snatches
its broken toys, its whitened pebbles and shells.

Posted at All Poetry.com

***

King of the Surf Guitar Dick Dale, 1963, on The Ed Sullivan Show, performs a medley of 'Surfin' & Swingin'' (a tune he performed in Beach Party), his classic 'Misirlou' and 'The Wedge'

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Ocean Lullaby

By Trudie Richman

The ocean sings a lullaby
The wind it whistles, hums and sighs
Seashells, stones and fish in the sea
All dance in mysterious harmony
They tell us to dry our tears
Stop dark thoughts, worries and fears
To let hope and sunshine have its say
So that we can live fully just today

Holocaust survivor Trudie Richman is a Smithsonian Folkways recording artist and poet.

***

Gone Are the Waves

By Bryan Knowles

Surf Poetry.com

Gone are the waves we used to ride
The ones upon a healthy tide.
We stole away her innocence
And prospered much by this offense.
Today we wake, we see the light
A daunting, putrid, shameful sight.
Our Mother Ocean in distress
Thus follows our hedonistic mess.
We say we're behind you all the way
As our sh*t out-falls into your bay.
It irks us as it drifts on by
While we float waist deep
Look 'round and sigh.
"It's another's problem, that's for sure
Just please don't cut access to this shore.
I've been riding here for years you see
My right, passed down is this old sea."
Yet who'll inherit after we?
Clean lines, surf's up!
To you and me.

***

'The Rising Surf' by Richie Allen & the Pacific Surfers. Richie Allen was a pseudonym for Richie Allen Podolor, a singer-songwriter-musician who was an important part of the Southern California recording industry from the late '50s through the '60s and '70s. His first recorded appearance was playing guitar on 'Dark Moon' by Bonnie Guitar (a Top 10 hit in 1957). He had several solo outings but founder greater success performing on other artists' recordings. One of the bigger hits of 1959, Sandy Nelson's 'Teen Beat,' featured Podolor on guitar. The project started a working relationship with Nelson that continued for several years. As a musician and producer, Podolor worked with Kim Fowley, Phil Spector and Sandy Nelson. Imperial Records' prez Lew Chudd thought enough of Podolor's talents to sign him for solo singles under the name Richie Allen. While Podolar and Nelson were under contract at Imperial, surf music became a national fad. After some success with his Stranger from Durango album in 1962, Imperial asked him to produce a theme album to capitalize on the surfing craze. The title track from that album was 'The Rising Surf,' released in May 1963 and credited to Richie Allen & The Pacific Surfers. In addition to Podolor (who, as surf music authority Dan Forte noted in Vintage Guitar, 'could double-pick like Dick Dale ['Surfer's Delight'], strum menacing tremolo chords a la Link Wray ['Undercurrent'], then twang a la Duane Eddy ['Foot Stomp U.S.A.']), Podolor assembled a killer band for the album, including session players like Nelson on drums, Rene Hall on rhythm guitar, Ray Pohlman on bass, and Plas Johnson and Steve Douglas on saxophones.

***

To Be a Child Once Again

by Patty Irons

And in the sea our true selves will unfold
and we will be one before God,
and the sea will touch our hearts,
and our souls will be filled with gladness,
like that of a child. And once again, we shall be free.

Posted at Divine Surf Design

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'Fiberglass Jungle,' The Crossfires (1963). Before they were the Turtles, they were The Crossfires, a nifty six-piece surf band from Westchester near the L.A. airport. The Crossfires performed frequently in and around Westchester for several years. They were one of the very few bands with two lead vocalists, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who doubled as the band's twin sax players. The group had an animated stage presence and a reputation for being wild but fun. In the summer of 1963 they cut 'Fiberglass Jungle' at Western Recorders in Los Angeles, a studio favored by the Beach Boys. 'Fiberglass Jungle' shows the deep Dick Dale influence on lead guitarist Al Nichol.

***

Impact Zone

by Andy Harney

posted at go-surfer.com

You think you're sitting
outside the break,
When here comes a wave
you're not going to make.
Along the horizon
a darkened blue,
must start the scramble
arms digging deep too.
It breaks before you
with a crack and a peel,
a smile on your face
life is surreal.
Waves are breaking
on top of your head,
a mountain of water
is now what you dread.
Whitewater comes,
it hits like a brick,
white and foamy,
a turbulent thick.
Waves keep on coming,
three , four, and five,
You think to yourself,
just one more duck dive.
And when you think
you that got your breath,
the ocean pushes
you down to new depths.
Waves back off
you're stuck in the foam.
Welcome to the Impact Zone

The Surfaris, 'Wipe Out' (summer, 1963)