I KNOW A PLACE. . .

By Rodney Rountree
Circa 1978
(Poem #7 from "Poem Time Capsule")

I know a place, not too far from here,
Where there is a beach. . . unlike other shores,
For it laughs. . . it is a very old place.
If you listen, (very quietly in the dawn of night),
You can hear the beach laugh, and the waves crash. . .

I know a place, not a long way from here,
Where you can see the waves crash while the beach laughs.
The waves are fierce, and the beach - it laughs. . .

I know a place, not too far away,
Where the beach laughs and the waves crash.
The beach is old - the waves are many.
The waves crash and the beach laughs,
And the waves are many. . .

I know a place, not too far from here,
Where the waves crash and the beach laughs.
But can you see - a grain of sand
Is washed into the sea - is drifting silently?

I know a place, not a long way from here,
Where the waves crash, and the beach laughs.
The sea is raging, still unchanging -
As a grain of sand silently, (ever so quietly),
Settles on the bottom, in the murky depths of gloom.

I know a place, not too far away,
Where the waves crash, and the beach laughs.
(Not a little time has passed. . .)
Something strange is happening—
A mound of sand is growing, (the sea is all unknowing),
A mound of sand is straining
Is reaching for the light!

l know a place, not too far from here,
Where the beach laughs and the waves crash.
Now the sand is grown up high. . .
(The sea is still unknowing).
There! Can you see--- that with every wave,
A grain of sand is washed back up on the shore?

I know a place, not too far away,
Where the beach laughs and the waves crash.
The sand is nearly all back now,
The sea is still un -- , wait!
The sea is changing, (it is now not unknowing).
The last grain of sand is hurled,
Is tossed far out to sea. . .

I know a place, not too far from here,
Its been a long time, but the waves still crash
And the beach still laughs. If you listen -
You may not hear, (till the night of dawn),
When the waves crash and the beach laughs. . .

I know a place, not a long way from here,
Where once the beach laughed and the waves crashed.
It is silent now. . .
Listen - can you hear (from very far away),
Can you see? There is a heap. . . a pile of sand.
Isn't it strange. . . the sand is smiling.

I know a place, very far from here,
Where there is a beach. . . unlike other shores,
For it laughs. . . it is a very old place.
If you listen, (very quietly in the dawn of night),
You can hear the beach laugh, and the waves crash. . .

---

This page was last modified on October 9, 2014
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