From Our Beach Hotel Room

The sea is angry.
Waves crash against rocks,
splatter along the shore.

You are not beautiful
when you crash against rocks,
splatter along the shore,
but these splendid waters
get a free pass
when it comes to
crashing and splattering.

That’s their beauty.
Your beauty is in your calmness,
your even surface.

“Here, come to the window,” I say.
“Look at this.”
The violence, the vehemence,
is palpable.

Yes, the sheer raw power of nature
has its place.
But as astonishment,
not an inspiration.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, North Dakota Quarterly, and Lost Pilots. Latest books, Between Two Fires, Covert, and  Memory Outside The Head are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in California Quarterly, Birmingham Arts Journal, La Presa, and Shot Glass Journal.