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Poetry
The Sandcastle that Killed the World
By ellipinnock
18 September 2006
This is for Josie :)
And, despite the title, it is not intended to be flippant

A child
Digs.
Blithe.
Innocent.
Heeding not
The destruction
Wreaked
Upon the smooth
Expanse of
Sand
Nor the
Lapping
Of tidal waves
Creeping
Closer and
Closer
To his
Unsuspecting
Back.

How then
Shall the man
Improve?
He proceeds as
Blithely
With
Innocent
Abandonment.
Yet now
The world
Is his plaything.
The towers
He builds
Belch
Acrid fumes
Skywards.
Tainting for
Evermore
Our planet.

He too
Ignores the
Warning
Signs.
The weather
May batter
And burn
Him.
He may
Choke
In smog
Of his own
Creation.
Yet,
His only
wish is for
A little
Peace
To build
His castles
In the
Sand.

Reviews
Josie is unworthy...
Written by Talisker (1367 comments posted) 18th September 2006
Sorry Josie. 
 
This is poetry of quality - The child is father of the man, the transience of things we think permanent. Nice themes, well delivered. 
 
"Castles made of sand, melt into the sea, eventually..." Jimi Hendrix 
 
Oli
Stunning
Written by mishmish (389 comments posted) 18th September 2006
Hi Elli 
 
This is absolutely superb. Left me totally gob smacked - something that doesn't happen often! 
 
Wonderful! Well done... 
 
Best wishes 
 
mish x

Written by Phil (8763 comments posted) 18th September 2006
Wonderful Elli. Actually brought a tear to my eye. Keep going back to read it. 
 
This is poetry. 
 
Fabulous. 
 
All the best, 
 
Phil.

Written by gutterkitty (362 comments posted) 19th September 2006
I love the idea behind this, it's really fantastic. I'm not sure about the structure, with the brief lines- I think it's possibly too slow and plodding, not thoughtful enough- but otherwise, well done :)

Written by ellipinnock (1816 comments posted) 19th September 2006
Blimey, thanks guys! 
Much appreciated. 
 
gutterkitty-I played around with the structure of this quite a lot and may continue to tweak. I wanted the lines to be short to given the poem a broked, slightly awkward feel to it and also to give the reader plenty of time to think as they went along so it is supposed to read quite slowly. Sorry it didn't work for you. 
 
Elli
The Sandcastle - - - - -
Written by Josie (4035 comments posted) 19th September 2006
Your imagery is quite remarkable. I have to tell you that I didn't like the short lines because I found it didn't flow - but that is not a criticism, only my personal preference. Your imagery is quite awful because people are still building their sandcastles with their backs to the sea - and nobody seems to want to do anything to change things, despite all the warnings. Who will give up their holiday abroad, travelling by air, to save our planet? That's one example of many. Enough said. Good link up to my poem about saving our planet.

Written by devscribbler (10 comments posted) 22nd September 2006
your short lines are like the lapping of the waves that were witness to the destruction. Keep writing. :)
Comparisons
Written by Star-Light (13 comments posted) 30th September 2006
Elli, 
 
This is beautifully written. It is a poem with a powerful message and so true. Thank you for sharing this. Keep up your writing because I feel you write from your heart! 
:p :)

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