For Love of the Sea

Kids, this oceanographer, who has studied and actually lived in  the ocean throughout her life, conveys her message so simply and convincingly, I can't imagine anyone not being moved by it. Here are two important minutes for your contemplation.

Mystical Swimmer

[gray whale image from marineecotours.com]

Mystical swimmer

in the timeless sea,

you travel

in the

amniotic sac

that carries

the DNA

of our entire

history.

You have watched

our evolution

from sea to shore,

from crawling

to standing upright,

but we're living

interconnected

with the land

no more.

Slowly,

we changed.

The Earth 

became "Resource"

and we have strayed

too far
from The Way

to even feel

remorse.

We have

destroyed

the fragile balance

of our

shared home,

stripping it bare,

while 

screams

and bombs

and warring

fill the air.

Your ancient eye

has watched it all.

This is why

your mournful song

is so full

of sorrow.

Your intelligence

is so vast

shamans and seers say

you have access to

the collective

unconscious

and can even see

our tomorrow.

Please don't tell us.

We can surmise

from flooding rivers,

melting ice floes,

forest fires,

earthquakes,

tsunamis,

drought and famine,

a story

far too terrible,

a harvest

we have

sown.

Sister Whale,

what have we done

to our planetary home?

We have forgotten

basic truths

that once

were known.

Sing your mournful song.

Swim through

the murky sea.

Together

we share

a heartbreaking

history.

Let's leave

the future,

while we still can,

shrouded in

mystery.



Life is a Beach

[photo by Stephanie Merk]

In 1989,

I made a great leap.

It took

listening to

my inner voice,

trusting the Universe,

overcoming my fear

and some courage.

But when

I drove

the Budget rental truck

around the bend

and saw

a big red fiery sun

going down

over Long Beach,

I knew that

I was

Home.

I pulled into

my driveway.

A wooden cabin,

surrounded by

tall cedars:

my home

for the winter.

A whale

was swimming

out front

in the bay-

a whale

in my front yard!

By now,

I figured

the Universe

was on

Overdrive:

ONE dream

COME true!!!

Let

the Adventure

begin!

The line between

the life I had lived

before,

marking time,

and the Life

I dove into now,

was defined

by that great leap.

For ten years,

I lived

with ecstasy

on a daily basis.

Everywhere my eyes lit:

Beauty:

eagles and herons,

and Grandfather Cedar

poking his snout

through morning mist

on Lone Cone Mountain;

ever-changing Sky,

horizons

leading to

Forever;

long miles

of sandy beaches,

not a human in sight.

And the sounds:

rain and wind

lashing the cabin walls

in winter,

me snug in bed

and listening;

the endless

sussuration

of the waves,

topped with white froth

like ponies

galloping in to shore:

a banquet

for my eyes

every morning

when I put the

kettle on

for tea,

Mozart

on the stereo

and blue jays

on the deck,

waiting for

morning seed.

The wild storms

matched

the wildness

of joy

and wonder

in my heart,

which was

filled

to the brim

and running over;

the alternative folk,

who were my kin,

were all around me:

my tribe;

at the Peace Camp,

and blockading

for the Trees;

the night we closed

the Peace Camp down,

Dana Lyons

singing Magic,

as hippies danced

in a clearcut

under

a full, round,

smiling

Grandmother Moon.

My heart

could not

hold

more happiness

than this:

to live

where my spirit belonged,

with my kin,

in the midst of

the most beauteous offerings

that

Mother Nature

has

to give.

The times when the sky

would clear,

Perfection

was even more

beautiful.

I was Alive

every moment

I lived there.

I mourned

every day, after,

when I was not.

But just to have known

that Glory

for a decade,

was a gift

beyond  telling,

a gift to my life

and my spirit,

a bequest

given freely

and unstintingly -

a gift

beyond price.

Written for the Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt: the beach.
My favorite place, and subject :)