Montauk: At the Edge of Everything

Written for Tanka Tuesday where Yvette
asks us to write a syllabic poem based on the theme
“It’s Vacation Time!” This is my shadorma.

Wild roses
bloom above the dune,
salt and pink,
morning stirs…
the family still sleeping
in our cedar house

Bare feet find
the old worn boardwalk…
cool sand waits,
tide pulls back,
children laugh at the cold rush…
oldest joy there is

Lobster rolls,
brown butter, cold wine,
the deck worn
smooth by years,
linger past the setting sun…
no one wants to leave

The ocean
holds every summer…
we have loved
all of them,
glittering out on the waves…
our beloved place

NAR©2026

Nancy’s Notes: Originally from Spain, shadorma is a short, unrhymed six-line poem (a sestet) characterized by a strict 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable structure.

This is “Memory Motel” by The Rolling Stones

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 68, It’s Vacation Time! 06/09/26

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}