Some of these beach haiku were written by random trips to beach.
Most of these are part of a series based on afternoons spent at the beach on Hilton Head Island with my pad out ( a real paper note pad), hoping for words with my iPhone camera handy to add illustration to my thoughts.
I wanted to see if I would be ‘inspired’ by what I saw, by what I heard, by what I smelled, by what I tasted, what I felt emotionally and what I felt tactilely.
Some turned out okay.
Some were too forced.
Some were just bad.
Some did involve some or all of those feelings.
As far as it goes, I guess I was inspired by by what I saw, by what I heard, by what I smelled, by what I tasted, what I felt emotionally and what I felt tactilely.
Please aware that most of these haiku were NOT WRITTEN on the date in the title – for an explanation of this please see The Series link in the navigation table.
up, down beaches, lost … freedom, exhilarating indescribable
Beach on Hilton Head Island as storm front comes up from behind me …
Adapted from a passage in the book, The Racketeer by John Grisham (Doubleday: New York, 2012), where Mr. Grisham writes:
I stare at the moon over the ocean.
I breathe the salty air and listen to the waves gently roll ashore.
Freedom is exhilarating, and indescribable.
I can’t wait to feel sand between my toes.
There are a few early birds on the beach, and I hustle down there.
No one notices; no one cares.
People who roam aimlessly up and down beaches are lost in their own worlds, and I am quickly getting lost in mine.
Obviously I think of the priceless moments I get on my lunch to breathe the salty air and listen to the waves gently roll ashore and I feel the sand between my toes.
But that one phrase there.
Freedom is exhilarating, and indescribable.
Are there any other words that can better describe what makes America great?
With the all the effort being put into making America great again, why do I find my freedoms less exhilarating and less free.
know that sea is strong like God’s hand and that the sea holds a wide, deep death
Adapted from the poem, Sea Charm, by Langston Hughes, published in The Weary Blues (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926).
The sea’s own children Do not understand. They know But that the sea is strong Like God’s hand. They know But that sea wind is sweet Like God’s breath, And that the sea holds A wide, deep death.
foggy day on Folly Beach, Hilton Head Island, SC – 3/8/2026
Again I am astounded at the level of cheek needed to ‘adapt’ the poetry of Mr. Hughes or Mr. Sandburg for my own purposes.
eventually weekends end reality sparks the sunday scaries
White Rainbow, Folly Beach, Hilton head Island, SC 3.7.2026
Readers of this blog will remember that on Saturday I enjoy the Guardian column, Blind Date, where the newspaper sets up a blind date between two volunteers at some posh (always wanted to use that word) dining establishment (can’t say just restaurant because the blind date might be at a pub, bistro, brasserie or just plan diner) and then the two volunteers are asked to answer questions about the blind date.
As this takes place in Britain, I enjoy the language and the menus of the dining establishment.
As for the menus, yesterdays Blind Date took place at the Cargo Cantina in Bristol.
Their website says, “CARGO Cantina is inspired by the authentic Cantinas of Mexico, traditionally forbidden to women, children and men in police or military uniform, where hombres used to drink around the bar and have some botanas (bar snacks).”
The first click on the menu, much like and online menu here in the USA, lands you on a page that says, ORDER BY GET GRUB or UBER EATS.
Again, as this is in Britain, you are invited to place your order via … Deliveroo!
Not kidding.
Deliveroo!
Is that not faboulous?
In a country where the bathroom is referred to as a loo, the online food delivery service is deliveroo.
Just gets you mind going doesn’t it.
Usually I find really goofy food choices on the menu like Singing Hinnies or Cullen Skink but this menu was straight forward Mexican with tacos, burritos and such but with a twist like Smoked Carrot Tostadas.
There was a nice note at the bottom of the menu that stated, 50p from each sale of our TORTILLA CHIPS + SALSAS are given to support Casita de Barro in Puebla. This is an educational project which creates sustainable living opportunities for communities in the local area.
There was also a warning that Cargo Cantina was a CASHLESS venue, meaning they only accept plastic which is different as we are seeing more and more restaurants here going cash only.
But enough about Casa Cantina as I DIGRESS.
Yesterdays Blind Date was with Harry, 24, an ecologist, and Freya, 24, a theatre-maker and cook.
The first question asked of the volunteers is “What were you hoping for?”
Harry responded, Some tasty food, and a nice evening with good company to block out the Sunday scaries.
The Sunday Scaries?
The Sunday Scaries?
Hadn’t heard of that one.
I have heard of “The Mondays”.
As in the movie, Office Space where Peter says “I gotta get out of here. I think I’m gonna lose it.”
And Nina, a co-worker says, “Uh oh. Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays.”
Later Peter asks his next door neighbor Lawrence (who he talks to through the paper thin walls of their side-by-side apartments, “Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday and you’re not feeling real well, does anyone ever say to you, “Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays?”
Lawrence replies (through the wall), “No. No, man. Shit, no, man. I believe you’d get your ass kicked sayin’ something like that, man.”
So I was thinking that somehow the Sunday Scaries could be related to having a case of the Monday’s but on the side of the Atlantic.
I open The Google and typed in Sunday Scaries and there it was …
If you’re a Monday-to-Friday worker, your two favorite days of the week probably begin with the letter S. Fun thrives on Saturday and Sundays, after all. It’s a two-day stretch with no job responsibilities.
But weekends eventually end — and as a new work week closes in, that looming reality can spark a growing dread known as the “Sunday scaries.”
As in the Cleveland Clinic about which Wikipedia states: Cleveland Clinic is an American nonprofit academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation, Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by a group of faculty and alumni from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Cleveland Clinic is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States.
The Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the United States, recognizes the Sunday Scaries as a real malady.
The Cleveland Clinic says:
“The transition from weekend relaxation to work mode can be a tough 180-degree turn,” she continues. “In that way, Sunday scaries are a normal reaction to adjusting to a different role and change.”
Plus, let’s be honest here: Work can be nerve-wracking. In fact, 83% of employees in the United States report feeling workplace stress.
“Work is one of those things people get anxious about because we don’t have control over so much of it,” adds Dr. Prewitt. “That can lead to negative thoughts and fears and worries about what’s ahead.”
And the Cleveland Clinic offers these 10 suggestions to chase away your worries about Monday.
Adopt a positive mindset: Negative thoughts can fuel the Sunday scaries. So, instead of thinking, “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow,” fill your mind with encouraging affirmations like, “I can do this” or “I’m ready to get back to it.” Keep busy: Schedule a fun activity on Sunday. Running errands or crossing tasks off your to-do list can help keep your mind off Sunday, too. Either can leave you feeling satisfied. Break a sweat: Exercise releases feel-good endorphins that can brighten your mood. Heading to a park for some hiking or the gym for a lifting session can give you the strength to take on Monday. Clear your head: Practicing mindfulness can be calming and help put you in the moment during the weekend. Try meditation, yoga or get that massage you’ve been wanting. Catch some ZZZs: Tired is no way to go into a new work week. Use the weekend to catch up on lost sleep and recharge your batteries. (Just don’t sleep too much, as that can bring its own set of problems.) Aim for a fresh start: Do your best to wrap up work tasks BEFORE you clock out on Friday. That can keep things from lingering in your head during your days off. Treat yourself: Give yourself something to look forward to on Sundays and Mondays. Maybe that means a nice dinner with friends or family to end the weekend or a coffee from your favorite café on the way back to work. Make Mondays easier: Reduce start-of-the-week worries by embracing the concept of “Bare Minimum Mondays” and easing back into job duties with simpler tasks. Plan ahead: Jotting down a to-do list for when you get back to work on Monday may help release your worries about what’s to come. (Just make sure you keep the list out of your head once it’s written!) Detach from work: If possible, try to avoid doing work over the weekend to fully separate yourself from your job. That email can wait until Monday.
There you have it.
10 tips to avoid those Sunday Scaries and help prevent a case of Mondays.
Personally, I believe you’d get your ass kicked sayin’ something like that, man.
Also, for myself, was on the beach on Hilton Head Island yesterday.
There was a lot of moisture in the air though not quite fog.
And overhead was a white rainbow.
In the Book of Genesis, The Bible tells us that:
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.
Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.
Always a comfort to read and to see a rainbow in the sky.
Though there is the question about the rainbow being white.
Never saw that before.
Could it mean something?
Here come those Sunday Scaries.
We could be set up for a real bad case of the Mondays.
BTW: I was kidding when I said White Rainbow but according to Wikipedia I was right. Wikipedia says, A fog bow, sometimes called a white rainbow, is a phenomenon similar to a rainbow; however, as its name suggests, it appears as a bow in fog rather than rain. Because of the very small size of water droplets that cause fog—smaller than 0.05 millimeters (0.0020 in)—the fog bow has only very weak colors, with a red outer edge and bluish inner edge. The colors fade due to being smeared out by the diffraction effect of the smaller droplets.
wave lasts moments but underneath another one waiting to be born
Hilton Head Island, 3/5/2026
Adapted from the poem Waves by Jim Harrison in the collection, Saving Daylight as published in the Complete Poems of Jim Harrison (Copper Canyon Press: Port Townsend, WA 2021).
WAVES
A wave lasts only moments but underneath another one is always waiting to be born. This isn’t the Tao of people but of waves. As a student of people, waves, the Tao, I’m free to let you know that waves and people tell the same story of how blood and water were born, that our bodies are full of creeks and rivers flowing in circles, that we are kin of the waves and the nearly undetectable ocean currents, that the moon pleads innocence of its tidal power, its wayward control of our dreams, the way the moon tugs at our skulls and loins, the way the tides make their tortuous love to the land. We’re surely creatures with unknown gods.
No Haiku For You 