At the Aquatic Sports

by Thomas Hardy (1925) — a poem card from Justes Mots

Three musicians play at seaside sports, deliberately facing away from the festivities they animate, detached from the joy their music creates. Hardy explores themes of labor, isolation, and the paradox of being central yet removed from community. This poem appeals to those reflecting on work's meaning or feeling disconnected from their own contributions.

WITH their backs to the sea two
fiddlers stand
Facing the concourse on the strand,
And a third man who sings.
The sports proceed; there are crab-
catchings ;
The people laugh as levity spreads ;
Yet these three do not turn their heads…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection