Surfers

September 28, 2025 Poet: Ron Hertz Artwork: Surfers by Stanley Smith

Surfers

Rows and rows of surfer guys

playing under pastel sunset sky,

just waiting for that perfect ride—

we do what we do to feel most alive.

Many will gracefully race across waves;

a few will even manage perhaps to hang five,

but most will spend` their time warily waiting,

looking over their shoulder, just trying to survive.

For there are rows and rows of endless waves,

like soldiers relentlessly marching toward shore,

and if you don’t watch out for these fast-snapping chaps,

rather quickly, you might not be there anymore.

For nothing comes easy for our guys out at sea,

even paddling out can be a feat of misery.

See that fat seven-footer coming to give you a whipping?

Better paddle like crazy or you might soon be back-flipping.

So why in the world do these guys do this mortifying thing?

Unfortunately, the photo doesn’t show what’s most motivating:

the girls on shore in their tiny bikinis, watching with wide-open eyes,

waiting for their sculptured hero to take them on a dazzling ride.