The tide was rolling. Like a metronome the earth’s heart pulsed with a comforting presence that underscored the wild chaos that swept through the wind; its pendulum marked the passage of moments that counted out the speed of the waves as their steady cadence sent salty foam flying through the air.
A silent tick tock tick tock threaded through the relentless advance and retreat unfurling might and strength to fall, break and speed through pools, spuming and casting froth that lit on the sea-gull cries and as they fished for their supper they cruised, surfed, dived and lifted again with wings outstretched. Wings outstretched like sails that balanced form as they scanned the sea with flint-coloured eyes. Each gaze pinpointing flashes of silvery scales that gleamed in the deep.
They descended with precision, with effortless grace. Masters of the elements, they fished the waters as an orchestra of sounds and scents rose to shout encouragement and whisper welcomes. With each gust, it carried the salty tang of the sea, the earthy aroma of seaweed, and the sweet perfume of wildflowers; and as it ran up the shore invisible fingers painted the sand with shards of cut-glass light. Casting patterns of shadow and illumination that stirred a symphony of movement that choreograph a ballet of nature’s own creation.
Rising over the bay, a peach painted lighthouse offered a warning to ships and local sea traffic. Positioned on a promontory its imposing presence promised a telling of tales that waited to be unveiled in cozy, story nights. No longer manned, its lonely demeanour illustrated an expanse of churning memories. It served as a natural lookout point that was set at the end of a stack of grey and cyan, slate, coloured cliffs -- the nearest one accessible from the beach. It had a topping of loose single that ran down onto the sparking diamond crushed shells that littered the stony ground and rock pools. Viewed from its base, through a flashing sun, it appeared to grow up and out of the beach-- like a man-made heap of a sugar mountain that was built to lean against a high wall. But it was illusory, just a safety measure to stop people from climbing up or down its face, as its body backed onto and curved around the land mass, to support the high road that was carved onto its summit and served as a bridge between the local villages.
From a point on this scrubland. a lonely, skinny, green bush grew to enclose a small caved space and from behind it a deer stepped out. Its magnificent antlers stretched high.
Tines, that resembled a human hand, that imaged a tree of life branched out from a centre beam. Its shimmering coat juxtaposed alongside soft brown eyes that were rimmed with glorious eyelashes; this magnificent creature knew this scape. knew where to hunt for food, knew the easy paths to follow. He stood tall and strong in this small space that curved around the end of the bay, where he'd spent many an hour tracing the human footprint. He knew the scent of sea and the taste of nature. Angling his head, he sniffed a spore, looked up the beach, saw the man walking alone head covered and bent into the wind. He paused momentarily before stepping-up onto the shingle. There he checked his path upwards and as loose stones rattled and slipped down the incline he climbed towards a private observation post where later, as night closed in, members of his pack would join him. And as he turned to face the sea, he sat, waited and watched until the man walked under his viewing post, picking his steps over rock pools that mirrored scudding clouds; walking to the end of the beach; relaxing in the beauty of the seasons' bark before turning for home.
Then as the sun painted the sky in fingers of pink and gold, the gulls returned, weaving between rocky outcrops and narrow crevices to reach nests that were built into the sheer rock face. As they landed they were greeted by the chirping of hungry chicks, their mouths open wide in anticipation of the evening meal. With tender care, the adult gulls fed their offspring. It was a scene of familial devotion amidst the sometimes harsh beauty of this coastal landscape, and a reminder of the bonds that unite all creatures in the web of life.