Au clair de la dune

A sequence of lyrical poems set on the coast, alternating playful evocations of summer leisure with darker meditations on storms, death, and longing. Scenes range from crowded bathing beaches, promenades, and caricatured tourists to solitary nights when the sea becomes a cemetery and the speaker’s melancholy surfaces. The poet uses vivid maritime imagery and personification to portray waves, gulls, and shells, mixing sensual language, irony about modern seaside customs, and brief satirical sketches of photographers and holidaymakers. Overall, the collection balances light, humorous observations with introspective, elegiac moods anchored in the rhythms of the shore.