White Wall
It was a moment to remember,
the wave of green water rising
above as it hit the rock shelf,
spray lifted over my head,
a constellation of foam bits
suspended briefly, then falling
in a sheet of spume, white stars
against the bluest sky, epiphany,
before the water rushing forward
thigh deep nearly knocked me over.
Even when only ankle deep and
watching the huge wave suck
the sea out to form a depression
as the wave rose, I could not move,
the power of the surf mesmerizing,
its danger no longer considered,
only the white anonymity of the
onrushing sea in true focus, as if
nothing else mattered, just the pure
thrill of feeling completely alive.
Neal Donahue
Neal Donahue was born in Maine but grew up on Long Island. His college education in Oklahoma was subsidized by the Navy and he majored in English. After serving 5 years as a submarine officer, he taught elementary school in Massachusetts and Vermont, incorporating poetry into his curriculum. Neal has had a number of poems published in small journals.