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A book of 'Abstract Musings' released
A poem by Judith LaHaie of Santa Rosa Beach
The finest shoreline you can imagine welcomes riptide's ghostly roar;
Their sugary pure white sands delight covering an emerald ocean's floor.
Eons ago Florida's northern Gulf Coast was magnificently blessed;
Beaches formed when showers of crystalline stars fell from the sky to rest.
Such superb splendor is found, only in that area it's been told;
Nigh a hundred and fifty miles of coast boast, of this wondrous behold.
Seaside claims the defining vortex designed through spiritual divine;
It's tiny village was built upon dunes molded ere planetary align.
These sacred grounds glisten magically 'neath sunshine's mystical rays;
And all are graced who linger midst gleaming crystal sands reflective plays.
Loveliness is what you see enrapturing, tho' not to remain very long;
Oil is gushing from deep wells up to the sea's surface which is so wrong.
It's 2010 and joy has faded leaving our dreams far, far behind;
Louisiana has lost a battle that fractures most every heart and mind.
Their offshore oil rigs deemed as safe, scream out foul and loud;
Thus BP and Texas oil-men scurry to bury their fault in a murky shroud.
One of their deep-sea platforms exploded in the Gulf of Mexico;
Burning and toppling over killing eleven men unprepared to go.
Devastation's only just begun tho' the eerie April day has passed;
Helpless creatures continuously suffer and die due to its fiery blast.
Marshes near New Orleans are completely, destroyed with oily slick;
What a horrid mess rich barons have cast, making us all sick.
There is no life, within estuaries where newness once was born;
Creation is being ruined whilst fishing and oil families fight, being torn.
Note, this war is battled as time marches on and on without any fix;
Nothing gets accomplished cause jobs and money roar loudly to nix.
Nobody seems to have the answer to our heart-felt prayers we wail;
We wish BP and others hadn't allowed the Horizon to rise and fail.
The natural world is festering from wounds never to be repaired;
Greed has at last ended futures of our children, but who cared.
All we hear is drill, drill, drill from those without insight;
Can't they offer more than selfish chants and realize what is right?
Pristine crystal beaches will be, blackened, for the oil spill seems to grow;
Over two million gallons spurt up each day from an, ugly ungodly flow.
Tears fall from my heart and soul as I glimpse what is to come too soon;
Everything on Earth will be dead and gone, yet once we owned the moon.
Last year's Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected everyone along the coast, each in a different way.
As a committed nature lover who believes we should strive to be one with the earth and its inhabitants, Judith LaHaie grieved over the effect the spill would have on nature. Her outlet for the grief was to write, an outlet she has utilized for the past 18 years.
The result of putting her thoughts down on paper is now out in LaHaie's third book of poetry, "Abstract Musings."
"I was affected by the oil spill and my way of dealing with it was to write," she said. "My poetry is about life and deals with all aspects of life. I paint pictures in words of what people go through -- me and others. I write of the spiritual and of God."
LaHaie also expresses her emotions through visual painting. Following the oil spill, LaHaie painted what she longed to see again along the coast -- crystal clear waters and beaches. She also designed the front and back covers for "Abstract Musings." The cover artwork is also hers.
"Abstract Musings" was released in March. Her first two books of poetry, "Moonlight Psyche: Lyrical Poetry of Love and Sorrow" and "A cappella: Lyrical Poetry" were both released in 2003.
Her writings have been described as a poetic reflection of life's fantasies and realities in lyrical verse, which most don't dare to express openly.
While her compilation of musings goes back 18 years, LaHaie said she remembers writing her first original poem in the third grade.
"I always liked to sing and make up words. It was easier for me to learn if things rhymed," she said. "And my writings today are lyrical."
LaHaie has lived in Seagrove since 1993.
Before moving to the area the Michigan native worked for the Michigan courts system and for Michigan's Public Service Commission.
"Abstract Musings" is available at Sundog Books and An Apartment in Paris, both in Seaside. The book may also be purchased online at Authorhouse and other preferred book sellers, or ordered from local bookstores.
