[Tina Shaw]

I GO DOWN TO THE SHORE
by Mary Oliver

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall —
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

[Mandy Edwards]

That’s lovely. So true. The sea knows what to do.

[Tina Shaw]

Yes, and I like the way the poet has turned the sea into a ‘character’ who reacts to the miserable narrator.

[Mandy Edwards]

Yes, that too! ????

[Janice Marriott]

Hmm. It feels very puritan to me. Work, keep on working. shut up your moaning….

Interesting that poems can mean many different things, press different buttons, for different readers!