Allen Ginsberg: Belmar Beach

“We used to welcome Summers in
With children by the shore,
But now how long the time has been
We journey there no more . . .” i

Allen Ginsberg as a boy
Playing on Belmar beach
Young skinny arms and legs boy
Laughing boy
Inquisitive boy
Bright boy
Drive from North to Belmar boy
Excitement of going down the shore boy
And first hint of salt air
First sight of blue Atlantic waves
Rushing to water’s edge
Playing in sand and building sand castles ii
Climbing breakwater rocks
Dodging waves
Tarzan jungle game
Boardwalk Playland nights
Cheerful noises and lights and bumper cars
Ice cream and cotton candy and savory delights
Dream day
Away
From city Paterson
“In the Great Lost Sea of Jersey . . .”  iii

i Ginsberg, Allen and Louis. Family Business: Selected Letters Between a Father and Son. Ed. Michael Schumacher. (New York: Bloomsbury, 2001), p. 300.
ii Morgan, Bill. I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 23-24.
iii Kerouac, Jack. Book of Dreams. (San Francisco: City Lights Publishers, 2001), p. 61.