Being down here in Naples, Florida gives me daily access to one of my favourite forces of nature—the sea. Is there anything more soul-cleansing than sitting in warm sand, contemplating the body of water that stretches out before you to touch the horizon? Water is life and it doesn’t matter if I’m looking out over the sea, a lake, a river, or even a pond. Any body of water is the most beautiful sight to me.
In a salute to all my past seaside adventures as well as the one I’m on right now, here’s a poem.
The Sea
The sea draws me
Like a breath draws air.
I travel to destinations
Contingent upon the sea
Being steps from my room.
The sea is my anesthetic.
Its indigo expanse spreads
Like a rich swath of dark velvet
Beyond the airplane porthole.
The velvet is patterned
With tufts of white,
Like pulls of thread.
And then it changes—
Crystalline zircon shallows rising up
As the plane glides downward.
The sea is life.
It fills and conceals
The earth’s nooks and crannies
For as far as the eye can see.
It curves its back at the horizon
To meet the warmth of its companion
The sun.
Its mood changes from moment to moment,
Day to day.
Our emotions are connected,
Mine and the sea’s. 
Calm today, it mirrors
The slow rise and fall of my chest
As I breathe in
Its sweet saltwater scent,
Rest in its soothing whispers.
Tomorrow, it releases its displeasure
In a churning, foaming fury
That explodes viciously
Against the shoreline rocks.
Once spent, it laps relentlessly,
Quietly onto the sand,
Apologizing in gentle murmurs.
Sometimes, under a grey
And tired sky,
The sea attempts to shrug itself
Into a mighty swell,
But nothing comes of the effort
And the surge abates with a sigh.
For the sea loses its sparkle
When its friend—the sun—
Departs.
The sea is eternity.
It existed long before us,
And will exist long after we’re gone.
Nancy Bell said,
March 2, 2015 at 8:59 pm
These pictures are absolutely amazing!
LikeLike
davefallonwriter said,
February 27, 2015 at 12:41 am
Your animal pictures are so beautiful
LikeLike
Gary Mandville said,
February 16, 2015 at 12:28 am
Donna, My God, you are a poet as well !!!!!!!! The pictures you sent are the best……Fifth Avenue, and all the fabulous cars. Hope you enjoy every single day, on the water, on the beach. It is butt cold here, in the minus.25, and colder in the wind chill. I am closing my eyes, and I am on the beach with you two. Enjoy every minute of it. Keep them pictures coming !!!!! Brenda
Sent from my iPad
>
LikeLike
Nora said,
February 15, 2015 at 9:30 pm
My feelings are similar towards the sea, Donna. Plus I feel I’m part of it. I feel I belong more in the water than on land. I feel that it has a strong pull for me. I sometimes joke that I must have been a selkie or some kind of a sea animal in a past life. Enjoy…
LikeLike
crazyquilter51 said,
February 15, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Just beautiful!
LikeLike
aranislandgirl said,
February 15, 2015 at 4:12 pm
You’ve read my mind….a stellar poem. Just this morning (and many other days) I wonder what it must be like to not know the sea, and to not have always known it. What replaces it for those? Would it make me content if I didn’t know better? Most of the answers I will never know, thankfully. Xx
LikeLike