Running High on Inch Strand

Superb, Mike.........

Oh, my... I've a love affair with the ocean going back to my childhood, even though I didn't see one until my mid-twenties. This is absolute perfection, in how it sums up my passion for it.

Thanks, Kathryn. Something tells me you have visited Kerry, perhaps something you wrote.

Thanks, Julie. I was lucky enough to be born a couple of hundred yards from the shore. When I visit Ireland I always go for a run along Inch Strand - where they filmed Ryan's Daughter. Spectacular, beautiful.

I really like this one. Great images of the strand

Oh man Mike, what a glorious expression of a pure runner's high. "why pause to analyze each singing part?" How zen and how like the zone. I love that you used the word "singing" my brain wanted to read "single" but your word made me pause right there, long enough to join you on the beach. Lovely poem.

Atticus, you should be a professional reader.  You do it nearly better than anyone I've ever met.

Susan, what a kind thing to say. Thank you so much. 

Thanks Deb. Atticus, I appreciate your comment. There's a glorious chorus in that zone, is there not?

This is a very nice poem Mike good luck, keep up the good work.

Each line feels like a wave or surge of bliss....an absolute delight to

dive into these tidal synapses and let the qualia have a free-for-all

spin with the multi-sensory poetics you sprint forward here with joyful

abandon.

Excellent, Mike. Like to see that place.

Thanks.

Oh wow. I love the beach, the sea. Thank you for taking me there.

Excellent imagery used here, Mike. I was taken right there with you, though I've never been close to there, the beach, or that beach, and would love to see some photos if you have them. I'm sure they'd match my mental images of what you write. Thank you for this,

Marilyn

I have the finest memories of Dingle and the fresh air, food, and music there.

I love how you and the sea become one during your run.  I could feel the rush.

Featured on Poet's Weekly Muse!

Fantastic wrtiting that you bring alive.  Nature is the constant inspiration...

Hey Mike,  this one is especially rich with new places and words and ways of using words  (singing as an adjective?  yes!).  Plenty of alliterative allure.  

I stopped to think (which isn't what you want your reader to do in the middle of running through your poem) about pumping lungs.  Maybe gasping or heaving or panting lungs??  Your call...

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Laura - I must admit that 'qualia' is not a word I have previously used and I had to check its meaning, but it was perfectly chosen. Yes, that's very much what the poem was about, those...qualia. Exactly. Thankyou.

Marilyn - I think I've got a photo of me running at Inch somewhere. I'll post it if I can find it and master the technology. Otherwise you should be able to find an image of the strand somewhere on the 'net.

Jan - thanks for the Feature. Your site is always a pleasure to visit.

Susan, you've got me thinking again. Not 'heaving' or 'panting', because they make breathing sound laboured to some extent, and when you're in that 'zone' and running easily, your breathing is steady and unforced. Bellows are pumps aren't they, drawing in and expelling, maybe 'pumping' is OK, but when considering this I noticed the repetition of 'beating' (legs and heart). Could be replaced by 'cadence' for legs, but that is too soft a sound - there are sounds in the poem 'spit - spray - spanked - sand' that are meant to capture the impact of footfalls. 'Pounding' might be better for the legs, and 'thumping' for the heart, which would have the advantage of an internal rhyme with 'pumping'. What do you think? The only thing is that thumping also gives the impression of a physical strain - is there a word that denotes a comfortable, steady, rhythmic beating? Pulses throb, but hearts? Well, there are 'heartthrobs' I suppose.

Mike, your delineation helped me to understand more clearly the "feel" or intention of your words and experience.  I'll offer some ideas, but pumping could be right.  However I took it to mean pumping as in arms pumping back and forth or "pumping iron".  

I looked at my visual thesaurus (I subscribe to this service) and followed the trail they gave.  

Respire
Inspire
Ventilating
Invigorating
Oxygenated
Oxygenise 

This was very good Mike, I could completely visualize your experience.

Mike as I read your poem I could see, smell, and hear the surf.  Lovely piece.