the bogey hole
at bronte beach
where i learnt to swim
as a tiny tot
is my special place
holding
memories of
my mother
in her floral petal
bathing cap
my grandmother
in her big straw sun hat
me riding my rubber swan
over those gentle waves
enjoying
the long lazy days of summer
at the beach
sadly
ma mere et ma grandmere
are no longer here
neither is the old tram
packed with beach goers
wending its way slowly up the pass
the bogey hole
will always be here
my ring is still here
wedged under that rock
lost all those years ago
and
with numbered days
so far
i am still here too
Rall, what spectacular photos! Thank you for this visual feast. Gorgeous beaches. I love the old tram and seeing some of the housing on the hillsides. Your poem took me back, too. I had forgotten we used to wear rubber bathing caps! And my grandma wore a straw hat too. Sigh. So wonderfully nostalgic. I so enjoyed this post.
ReplyDeleteIt is good that so some things change, there are those places that remain the same....and one can always look back at the way things were! I think I DID see Bronte Beach in Sydney once upon a time! So beautiful.
ReplyDelete"my ring is still here / wedged under that rock / lost all those years ago" Like these memories, not lost really, but still in the landscape of those times when you learned to swim. I enjoyed this, photos and all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful reflection on place and belonging and how we feel a part of the world with the love of others to guide us first - Jae
ReplyDeleteI’m enjoying visiting all the different landscapes, Rall, and I love visiting the summer beach with you and your memories of your mother and grandmother, so deftly woven into the landscape. I especially like the image in these lines:
ReplyDelete‘…the old tram
packed with beach goers
wending its way slowly up the pass’.
And I love the photos!
I cannot get past the image of the petals on the bathing cap!! My grandma had one, too, and it gave me a happy chill. The images are so lovely, too.
ReplyDeleteThere's a quiet resilience in those lines- an acceptance of impermanence, yet a comfort in the things that remain. Beautifully heartfelt!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos! My heart is living somewhere else.
ReplyDelete