Marshes of Glynn

I have been spending some time in my home state of Georgia over the last couple of weeks before heading to Nairobi. This weekend, my family spent time in St. Simons Island, one of our favorite spots in all of Georgia. As we were boating through the coastal waterways around St. Simons yesterday and enjoying the bright sun, blue skies and peaceful marshes, my sister said “this is good for the soul”. I couldn’t agree more. And, so does famous Georgian poet, Sidney Lanier, in one of his mostly widely read poems, “The Marshes of Glynn”. In this poem he describes the marshes and the sea and how their vastness are the expression of the greatest of God and are filled with power and mystery.

Marshes of Glynn

Oh, what is abroad in the marsh and the terminal sea?

Somehow my soul seems suddenly free

From the weighing of fate and the sad discussion of sin,

By the length and the breadth and the sweep of the marshes of Glynn.

(excerpt from “The Marshes of Glynn” by Sidney Lanier)

Sidney Lanier Bridge (view from St. Simons Island)

Georgia’s tallest cable-stayed suspension bridge is named after Sidney Lanier and connects the mainland to several of the Golden Isles. It is a beautiful bridge and one of my favorite views around the island.

Sidney Lanier Bridge (photography credit goes to Jimmy Allgood on this one)