beach pilgrimage

Sometimes solo time in nature means looking for a place where you can be physically on your own in a natural setting, without any other human beings present. That is a special experience. Sometimes solo time in nature means going quietly within your own soul, while all around you other human beings relate in their own ways to the natural setting in which all of you are present. That too is a special experience. And it was my experience this week when my solo time took me to Muizenberg Beach, already brimming with fun, as sand, sea and sun satisfied the particular longings of each ‘beach pilgrim’.

Beach pilgrimage

Searching for solitude
On a holiday beach
I’m surrounded by pilgrims
Each on their own quest

One lone photographer
Captures the moment
While young voluntourists
Redeem children through play

Comfortable grannies
Overflowing their deckchairs
Shelter blanketed babes
In their soft ample laps

Wide-thighed young women
Squeal in the shallows
Gathering their skirts
As waves run up their legs

A proud young Adonis
Struts, rippling and dripping,
Smugly aware of their
Sly, sideways looks

Fearless young surfers
Lie in wait for a ride
In tune with each nuance
Of wind, swell and tide

A small boy’s commitment
To hours of play
Prepares him for life
In the most natural way

 Moments of wonder,
Abandon, reflection
Beach-going pilgrims
Find a sacredness here