Sea-Feasting

A Poem for Seafood & Sounds 2025

Sep 08, 2025

man fishing on seaside — Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash

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By the sea, I am well fed,
For here the fish play music.
Angled lines like strings of harps,
Playing them are crabs and carps.
Harmonising with their scales,
Their song rivals that of whales.
By the sea, I am well fed,
For here the fish play music.

The harbour nights are vibrant,
And moored with many sailors.
Taverns lure in travellers
Who swim amongst regulars.
Revellers with oyster pearl
Sing ‘Cheers!’ with crews and their burl.
The harbour nights are vibrant
And moored with many sailors.

By the sea, I am well fed,
For here the fish play music.
Melody filling each lung,
Symphony upon my tongue,
With salt that brings out sweetness
Of orchestral completeness.
By the sea, I am well fed,
For here the fish play music.

Sea-Feasting ~ Poem by Tom Shaw

I’ve been based on the south coast of the UK for a little while now, and I wrote this poem as part of the promotion for Seafood & Sounds, a hybrid food and music festival run by independent businesses on Poole Quay each year. This year’s celebrations are taking place this weekend between the 13th & 14th September, and I’ll have a little stall at the event with a few of my books for sale and a newly-renovated vintage typewriter for people to come and have a go on.

I’m always keen to support local initiatives that bring people together in physical space. This event, based around local foods and musical acts, is no exception. These are the kinds of spaces that allow people to bond over their common humanity and dissolve political, tribal and ideological divisions. These are the places where the world changes most: not in the battleground of parliament, or the tucked-away offices and meetings of anti-human control freaks, but in the markets where people support local produce, artists and artisans. Where they contribute directly to the success and livelihoods of the people around them, and not of those in far-off places with no relation to the geography in question.

All this can happen irrespective of whether people are “like-minded” on particular subjects or issues as me. In fact, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that being “like-hearted” is far more important than being “like-minded” in pretty much all that we do; it is far easier for me to consider an alternate point of view if I know instinctively and spiritually that someone else’s heart is in the right place. Furthermore, we can still work together on things of mutual benefit if our hearts’ intentions are aligned, even when our mental rationale may be very different.

The world we inhabit is one subject to time and, as such, change is a transition. Expecting instant perfection is a recipe for disaster. It is the little, incremental successes that we can achieve in every moment of the day that turn the tide of social change. Initiatives like Seafood & Sounds are a great example of a pendulum-swing back towards local, intentional and community-oriented ways of living, and I am proud to be supporting it.

If you’re in the UK and can make it along to Seafood & Sounds this weekend, I’d be grateful to meet you. Otherwise be sure to check out my Events page to see what other opportunities there are to see me in-person, or get in touch with me if you’re keen to arrange something over the internet or in-person somewhere else in the world.

Thank you for making the time to read this piece. I look forward to bringing more your way soon.

With gratitude,

Tom