The Surfer
He thrust his joy against the weight of the sea; climbed through, slid under those long banks of foam - (hawthorn hedges in spring, thorns in the face stinging). How his brown strength drove through the hollow and coil of green-through weirs of water! Muscle of arm thrust down long muscle of water; and swimming so, went out of sight where mortal, masterful, frail, the gulls went wheeling in air as he in water, with delight. Turn home, the sun goes down; swimmer, turn home. Last leaf of gold vanishes from the sea-curve. Take the big roller’s shoulder, speed and serve; come to the long beach home like a gull diving. For on the sand the grey-wolf sea lies, snarling, cold twilight wind splits the waves’ hair and shows the bones they worry in their wolf-teeth. O, wind blows and sea crouches on sand, fawning and mouthing; drops there and snatches again, drops and again snatches its broken toys, its whitened pebbles and shells.
The Surfer - meaning Summary
Joyful Struggle with Nature
The poem depicts a swimmer whose bodily joy and muscular control let him surge through the sea, likened to gulls in flight. As dusk approaches a voice urges him home; the sun sets and the beach draws him back. The tone then shifts: the sea becomes a menacing, wolf-like force on the sand, indifferent and consuming, snatching shells and pebbles. It contrasts human delight and mastery with nature’s relentless appetite.
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