Poetry, Theme Prompt, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompts

To Beach Or Not To Beach

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Living Poetry where
we’re asked to write a beach poem.

Image by Me & ChatGPT

The ocean calls with siren song, its waves a sparkling blue,
The sunscreen’s packed, the towels stacked, we’re heading to the view!
The children squeal, the seagulls wheel, the ice cream truck draws near,
Oh, what a day at the beach awaits …. the best time of the year!

But barely have we spread our things upon the burning sand,
When nature makes her feelings known in ways we hadn’t planned.
The wind kicks up, the umbrella flips, it somersaults away,
And chases down a family of six who just arrived that day.

The water! Oh, the glorious waves that beckon, cool and bright!
We plunge right in and instantly feel everything’s alright.
The salt, the surf, the buoyancy …. we’re dolphins, we are free ….
Until a wave removes my top and sends it out to sea!

The sun, that warm and golden orb, has kissed us far too long.
We thought SPF fifteen would do …. oh, how we were so wrong.
We’re lobsters now, tomatoes, we’re freshly boiled beets,
And every shirt feels like sandpaper …. and so do all the sheets.

Then there’s the sand, that sneaky foe disguised as summer fun,
That finds its way to places where no sand should ever come.
It’s in our hair, between our toes, our sandwiches, our ears,
And locations far more personal that we won’t mention here.

Yet come next July, we’ll pack the car and make the journey back,
The sunburn just a memory, the sand shook from the pack.
For beaches hold a magic spell no logic can explain ….
We swear each time we’ll never go, then can’t wait to go again!

NAR©2026

This is “By the Beautiful Sea” from Jon ACME’s Music Channel

Monday Poetry Prompt: Beach

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



32 thoughts on “To Beach Or Not To Beach”

    1. When I was a kid, we’d spend the whole summer at the shore, hair getting bleached and skin turning red; a sunburn was a healthy look, the badge of fun in the sun! So pleased to know those lines landed well with you. Thanks for a great prompt! 🏖️

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    1. Thanks, Jim! You might enjoy day trip or even a weekend with some quality girl-watching and a dip in the ocean! I can’t take too much sun these days but stick me under an umbrella with a fruity drink and I can rubberneck with the best of them! 🏖️🍹

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  6. Sweet dreams are made of these…🎶 Compared to long days in the office, piles of laundry, and whining Karens, the moments of bliss (and hilarity) on the beach balance out the stress of the other. The lilting meter of your poem really brings out the fun!

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