Surf in Verse

Ode To Surfing

While herein words I cannot put
Nor in frame may cameras capture
Those hallowed waves through which we slip
And ride this life of rapture.
To be or not
The state of me
Rests on a vexing question.
Were not I dealt this salty deck
"Not to be" leads in which misdirection?
Yet here we are
While lost are thee
If not aboard and riding free
For we may fleeting lines convey
The pulse which guides a surfer's way.
--Brian Knowles, posted at Surf Poetry

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World's Biggest wave ever surfed. Full video clip. A 90-foot wave with Garrett McNamara off the cost of Nazare, Portugal, showing the city as the background, the set waves, land support, wave ride towing-in, and interview with Garrett McNamara.

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To Infinity

Sea and sky meet under sun or moon
To strike a chord that casts a wavering horizon.
Blurred at times by fog or night
While elsewhere drawing contrast, depth, distinction.
Caught now and then, amid reflection.

A line that sees the day a different way
Around the world we chase it
Knowing we'll never catch up
Yet in pursuit we'll venture far
And discover much before it.
--Brian Knowles, posted at Surf Poetry

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The Aqua Velvets, ‘Bravado’

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Gone Are The Waves

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 shit 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 in this old sea.'
Yet who'll inherit after we?
Clean lines, surf's up!
To you and me.
--Brian Knowles

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Jack Nitzsche, ‘The Lonely Surfer’ (1963)

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Beautiful Giant

I found a giant
That holds a secret to keep
Whose heart is defiant
And depths are too deep.
 
His body will lurch
And twist and bend
For those who search
Will find no end.
 
His mysteries are hidden beneath a surface of glass
But I warn you, beware
If he gets angry, he won't let you pass
Through the shadows that lie ahead there.
 
While I search for secrets below
I am in a soundless world of blue
I am alone, for all I know
But there are things all around watching me to.
 
I must stay keen
For he will bless me well
And he did! With wondrous things I had never seen
That I don't have words to tell.
 
This beautiful monster that is alive today
Has a never-ending life of motion
An amazing world, where I'd love to stay
Is nothing but the ocean.
--Karissa at Go Surfer.com
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Mr. Acker Bilk, ‘Stranger On the Shore’ (1961)

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Silver Surfer

I'm getting old, or so I am told,
my hair's turning silver, my forehead is bold.
I still love the water, and to play in the surf
getting wet is way better than standing on turf.
On it at dawn while others still sleep,
my paddle has slowed but still strong and deep,
I live for the drop on waves fast and steep.
Surfing for pleasure and the fun it's a thrill,
as each day I go, honing my skill.
So when in the lineup, we're bound to meet
to nod with a smile, is a soulful greet.
I'll keep on surfing for the rest of my days
and I'll never stop searching
for hidden beaches and bays.
--(c)2005 Andy Harney at Go Surfer.com