Coney Island

As of March 1, 2020 (NOW) I am hosting a NEW Bi-Monthly "Artistic Interpretations" at a new blog site set up for this new challenge.   All are welcome, poets, painters, etc.  Click on the link below and read the details.  I hope you can join the creativity.

Coney Island

Before the clamor and confusion of mid-day,
before shadows slant lean and low
and seagulls dive-bomb a littered beach,

I gaze down the grey-boarded walk
bejeweled with brightly colored umbrellas
and awnings hawking lobster rolls, soft serve, and beer.

It’s a calm before the storm, a respite;
ghostlike. As if I look hard enough,
I’ll transport back in time

when five cents gypsied one down the tracks
to a beachside breeze, promise of a Nathan’s frank,
and a Steeplechase thrill.

Electro Spin and Sea Side Swing seem overshadowed

by Wonder Wheel’s grace (that’s probably still the same)

and Classic Rock rolls its rhythm 

as Carousel and Thunderbolt act as grand sentinels

(that’s how I imagine it). I’m eventually drawn to the beach

dotted with small shaded oasis’s, crowded with coolers and chairs.

“Cold Corona’s, Cotton Candy!, Snow Cones”. 

“Get it!, Get it!” and I buy 2 umbrellas for $20,
my own refuge beneath a partially cloudy sky,

close my eyes as a life guard’s whistle blows,

children laugh, bicker, cry
and Latino hip hop filters from over my left shoulder. 

By Margaret Bednar, July 1, 2019

Linking this with a New Challenge:  "Artistic Interpretations - Coney Island, NY" March 1, 2020

This is linked with “The Sunday Muse - Wednesday Muse - Keeping Cool”
And “Imaginary Garden With Real Toads - The Tuesday Platform”

I invite you to listen to me read my poem: