Ode To The Sea

Ode To The Sea

A Poem by Patricia Wood

The steady beat of the ocean's heart,

Pounding, swashing rhythmically,

Intermingled with the melancholy, distant call of the gulls,

A sound so sad, so solitary, Near and yet far.

Those gulls of prey

Circling, hovering in the cloud-filled sky

Seeking food.

The life from the sea.

O deep endless waves,

Why tread your path of heartbreak and destruction?

Your revenge for your irreplaceable loss to ma?

Or is it a plea from your lonely wintry sands

For the sun, the breeze, and the people who have deserted you?

Think not of our misgivings

As they are as essential to us

As the daily ebb of the tide is to you.

Think of those long, summer days

When the sun blazed through the clear, yet hazy sky,

And children ran barefoot through your warm amber sands;

When your gentle, even tempered waves cooled their hot bodies,

When people lay on tattered towels, hiding behind multi-coloured shades, clad in pretty beachwear and plastic straw hats.

When laughter rang through your silent, friendly inviting beaches

Where flasks of drink, tea cups, bags were in abundance

Those young and old lovers walked hand in hand

And the cool breeze caressed the waters.

Such happy times with lovely memories,

Never far from our minds.

Remember the happy things, you vengeful thunderous sea,

As you pound impatiently against the stony shores.

Sen back your fiery steeds of foam.

Beware, you shores,

Of the waves that hope to engulf your sands.

Be patient, be calm,

O mighty waters,

Your time is gone

But your time shall come again.

©️Patricia Wood/Lorraine Poulter  1978