by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

Lighthouse

Boca Chita Lighthouse, Biscayne National Park. Photo by Ellen Maher.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse, beautiful

in daylight.

Unlighted replica landmark

gracing Biscayne park,

starlit after dark.

Island in Biscayne Bay,

park where boaters play,

enjoying a sunny Saturday.

Miami seems worlds away!

Boca Chita Island visitors adore

picnics, music, pristine sandy shore,

climbing lighthouse stairs to explore

blue-water vistas, serenity restore:

sharks, rays, dolphins, many more!

Boca Chita Lighthouse, Biscayne National Park. Photo by Ellen Maher.

Staircase inside Boca Chita Lighthouse. Photo by Ellen Maher.

Katey Batavia & Ellen Maher at the top of Boca Chita Lighthouse.

Biscayne Bay viewed from Boca Chita Lighthouse, Biscayne National Park. Photo by Ellen Maher.

Copyright© 2023 by Cheryl Batavia

This is an example of a Ziggeraut poem, named after a step pyramid. This one reminds me of a lighthouse.

Title is one word.

Lines one and two have two words.

Lines three through five have three words.

Lines six through nine have four words.

Lines ten through fourteen have five words.

Rhyme Pattern: aa bbb cccc ddddd

50 Comments

  3. Gorgeousness! These photos are magnificent. The colors. I could almost feel the breeze. The stairs, a bit scary to me though. I love lighthouses but have never visited one. It’s always the stairs that hold me back. One day, I will.

    And your poem— a real homage to your beloved lighthouse. How lovely. Never tried that form. Maybe I will. Thanks for the intro, Cheryl. Adore this. Thanks for sharing. XoXo

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    1. Selma, I climbed the stairs to several lighthouses in my younger years. 🙂 Not up to stairs these days, I left the stair-climbing to my daughters this time. They were very excited that they saw a shark and a skate from the top of the lighthouse. Then they walked the trail around the island past the beach. I sat in the sunshine overlooking the water and enjoying the breeze.

      I empathize with your reluctance to climb stairs. My phobia is claustrophobia! 🙂

      Thank you for your beautiful comment! ❤ ❤ ❤ So happy that you enjoyed the post. I know you would enjoy writing a Ziggeraut. I had a lot of fun with this one.

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    1. Thank you, Filipa, for your kind words! ❤ ❤ ❤ So glad you enjoyed the post.

      There are five lighthouses around Biscayne National Park. Boca Chita Lighthouse is a replica built in the 1920s to take advantage of beautiful views. It never had a light, but was enjoyed by many famous guests who attended parties on the private island, part of the Deering estate. There were also picnics, concerts, and elephant rides for guests. The island is now in Biscayne National Park. It was peaceful when we visited, but we were told that it is crowded with boats on the weekends. 🙂

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  19. Wonderful poem. Not well versed in the world of poetry- had to write one for an English Lit class in college making it the one and only time I have delved into that world – teacher agreed with me I should stick to coding ha. Ironically one of my favorite shirts has Code Poet on the front hehehe. The lighthouse image (and words) reminded of St. Marks NWR which we visited for the first time this week (to see Pinky!).

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    Reply

      1. Will definitely have at least one post on St. Marks coming up – they have an internationally known resident you might be interested in seeing/reading about.

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