Pardon if I sound a bit enraptured, maybe no…
I am enraptured, no apology is necessary.
I have spent a number of days by the sea…
The Gulf of Mexico, this winsome body of water it is…
It reminds me again of how we much too easily call things
Awesome.
Seven-tenths, 70 percent, the majority of the surface of the planet is
Water
Though there is more water here on this planet than almost anything else
We long to be near it, on it, by it…
My ears, my mind, my heart, my soul will mourn for this lovely sound
Of waves crashing, relentlessly, continuously, persistently upon the shore
When I hear it no more.
When I am not near it, when it still crashes here
And I am not, it will go on.
Not needing me; yet it has fueled me.
For the eons and eons that this has played out,
And every moment that I am here, I watch, I listen, I ponder, I absorb
That sound, and it goes on, and on…
It will without me, it has forever.
I love that I am a small insignificant blip of my own noise beside this behemoth…
The sea has been saying the same thing, over and over and over…
Here I come, I am here, here I go again.
The sound is endless, so is the horizon.
Every day the sunrises and paints new colors…
Every day the sun blasts the ceaseless waves with shimmering light
And as the sun sets we know, it will be back tomorrow…
Watching over the waves, the life, the water, the endless songs of sound, and power,
Unending.
Tom, my friend the poet is unleashed and we welcome your gift. Beautiful my friend.
Tom,
This is what our friend, Larry Tyler, would call “strong ink.” Your poem is beautiful and poignant at the same time.
Loved “I love that I am a small insignificant blip of my own noise beside this behemoth…”
Thank you for writing.
I love that you love it, Yvonne… it was something that wrote itself. After spending so much time near the Gulf, it was bound to well up inside me and need to be released in some form. This is what happened… the universe is always talking – when we stop to listen, it’s amazing what we learn.
Fun fact: I hate the water (I have the disposition of an average American house cat, after all). But after reading this, I long to sit by the water (at a safe distance, of course), and watch the sun rise, swell, swelter, and fall again on the brilliant sheen of the water that makes up so much of Life on earth. You’re a poet, Tom!
My wife is a farm girl, and no fan of water either. But she is very much a fan of being near it – and she loves to walk beside it. She is not big on being on the water – we went sailing while we were in Florida and it took a couple Dramamines and was zonked out all afternoon after that. She has no interest in being in it, at all… but in the proximity, seeing, hearing and being near it, she has become a huge fan. It is mesmerizing, calming and soothing. You might as well make peace with something that is so much a part of our existence. Thanks so much for your input, I am so glad that you liked it, even with some of your known aversions.
With this kind of poetry, I’d even dip a toe into some water!
Very good point about making peace with something that is so much a part of our existence — as I get older, I find myself being less adversarial and more at peace (which is ironically what the ocean waves lapping at the shore can create!).
Brilliant prose, as I so enjoy all of your articles!
Thank you Dennis, for allowing these opportunities to say what sits upon our hearts… I will always be thankful.
Our pleasure, Tom… Everyone has stories to tell, my friend. And we’re so pleased to be sharing yours with the universe.
Beautiful, Tom. One of the reasons I love the sea – the pounding surf – is that it happens totally independent of us. We are not masters of everything, although we often treat the water like we are. Instead of just being with it, we try to rise above it. Instead of loving it for its mystery, we sully it. Shame on us.
Hey Jeff – the sea doesn’t need any of us, it keeps rolling and crashing and being, as it has for time immemorial. The ocean is, and it is a lovely and awesome thing to behold. Thank you for contribution, as always.
Tom Dietzler! Who knew you were a POET?! Absolutely beautiful, my friend. You beckoned me to sit beside you on the beach in awe. Keep writing dem poems!
And Kimberly, to sit beside you in any circumstance would be a breathless, winsome and awesome opportunity. I treasure your lovely contribution to this and every conversation. Thank you!