Poetry and Seafood

Being this my final post on a series of photographs about a seafood market, I thought it would be appropriate to open the post with a poem about shrimps; the favorite dish preferred by most seafood zealots.  This is the poem I selected to open the post.

The Shrimp Gatherers
by Bayard Taylor

“SCARLET spaces of sand and ocean,
Gulls that circle and winds that blow;
Baskets and boats and men in motion,
Sailing and scattering to and fro.

Girls are waiting, their wimples adorning
With crimson sprinkles the broad gray flood;
And down the beach the blush of the morning
Shines reflected from moisture and mud.

Broad from the yard the sail hangs limpy;
Lightly the steersman whistles a lay;
Pull with a will, for the nets are shrimpy,
Pull with a whistle, our hearts are gay!

Tuppence a quart; there are more than fifty!
Coffee is certain, and beer galore;
Coats are corduroy, minds are thrifty,
Won’t we go it on sea and shore!

See, behind, how the hills are freckled
With low white huts, where the lasses bide!
See, before, how the sea is speckled
With sloops and schooners that wait the tide!

Yarmouth fishers may rail and roister,
Tyne-side boys may shout, ” Give way!”
Let them dredge for the lobster and oyster,
Pink and sweet are our shrimps to-day!

Shrimps and the delicate periwinkle,
Such are the sea-fruits lasses love;
Ho! to your nets till the blue stars twinkle,
And the shutterless cottages gleam above!”

After setting up the adequate ambiance for a seafood market, below are the final pictures taken during an early Sunday morning.  It was a rainy overcast day, but the spirits inside the building were high and the colors were fantastic.  These are the pictures for your enjoyment.

 

A jovial woman attends a fish stand full of brightly-colored fish at a Panama seafood market. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of a fresh catch of red snappers well preserved in ice at the Panama seafood market. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Mr. Almengor organizes his jumbo shrimp stand at the Panama seafood market. The sign above reads, “The blood of Christ has power – Exodus 24:8.” The shrimp sells for $6.00 a pound.  Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Picture of a tray loaded with lobsters and giant crabs known as “centollos” at the Panama seafood market. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of baby lobsters on sale at the Panama seafood market. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This is the cul-de-sac of our journey to the Panama seafood market.  I feel priviledged to live in a city close to the sea.  The smell of the ocean is unique, as well as the sounds of the white seagulls singing upstairs in the blue sky.  I’m preparing my next photographic gallery which I trust you will enjoy.  Until we meet again, Good Day.

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