THE BEAUFORT SCALE: FROM CALM TO HURRICANE by Sue Moules
A found poem
CALM
Like a mirror, light air, slight ripples,
light breeze, small wavelets,
gentle breeze, large wavelets.
crests begin to break, a few white horses.
MODERATE BREEZE
Small waves, becoming longer-more frequent white horses
fresh breeze, moderate waves, longer form
many white horses, some spray,
strong breeze, larger waves, white foam crests,
extensive spray.
NEAR GALE
Sea leaps up, foam from breaking waves begins
to be blown in streaks in the direction of wind.
GALE
Moderately high waves of greater length,
crests breaking into spindrift,
foam blowing in well marked streaks.
STRONG GALE
High waves,
dense streaks of foam along direction of wind,
crests of waves begin to tumble over,
spray affects visibility.
STORM
Very high waves;
with long overhanging crests,
great patches of white foam
blown in dense streaks
along wind direction,
surface of sea generally white
tumbling of sea becomes heavy,
visibility more affected.
VIOLENT STORM
Exceptionally high waves
(medium sized ships may at times
be lost to view behind the waves),
sea completely covered with long white patches of foam
along the direction of the wind,
cages of wave crests blown into froth,
bad visibility.
HURRICANE
Air is filled with foam and spray,
sea completely white with driving spray
visibility very seriously affected.
Copyright © Sue Moules, 2015.
Sue Moules has been published widely in literary magazines including Poetry Wales, New Welsh Review, Planet, Ambit, The North, Orbis and Roundyhouse. Her work has also appeared in many anthologies: On My Life (Honno), Exchanges (Honno) , Poetry Wales 25 Years (Seren),The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Cinnamon),The Voice of Women in Wales (Wales Women’s Coalition), Of Cake and Words (Cledlyn), A Star Fell From Orion (Peter, Bridge and Stephen),and Poetry From Strata Florida.
She has published three poetry collections: The Moth Box (Parthian), In The Green Seascape (Lapwing), and The Earth Singing (Lapwing). She also published a joint collection Mirror Image (Headland). She is a member of the poetry performance group Red Heron.