Charlotte Stang arrived in Phuket on our Thailand Gap Year Program, and found herself deeply inspired by the natural beauty of the land, especially the beaches. Over the course of her first week on program, she wrote two poems for Patong Beach. We can't help but be amazed by the insanely talented students we get on program!
Float
by Charlotte Stang
Can you imagine
a wide horizon
blotted clouds painted by a child’s finger
dabbled in clear whites and stormy grays.
Bright rays sneak through, pierce through
to glisten across the waves
Imagine a line
of swaying trees:
blue sky, clean sand, friendly heads—
bobbing and laughing, surrounded
by lush green mountains
Now imagine the in-between:
forward the clouds, back the mountains,
the sand barely an inch too deep—
grazing my toes as the waves lower,
then swell, lifting me, pulling me,
the ebb and flow carrying me—
out to the clouds, in to the shore,
aimless and purposeful between
cosmos and friends, finally,
I float
Verse
by Charlotte Stang
The ocean was playful that day.
It rose and fell, lifting her, pulling her in
only to push her forward again, waves
laughing with her as she turned
and jumped to let them crash
across her back. The ocean spoke,
and she listened, and the clouds parted
to see the sun light her eyes.
The dolphins chattered and dove
around her, the fish nibbled her toes.
The current guided her away from rocks,
and the wind lifted her hair
to dance behind her smile.
The water glittered that day,
sunbeams sparkling off of flecks of gold
in the sand, in her eyes.
She played, and the ocean sang,
and the earth smiled that day.
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