Ocean Magazine: She Was the Sea
- wallacejnichols
- Oct. 1, 2005
Joshua Slocum may we one day speak
of the seas that you once sailed
and of the way they seemed
in those days of yours.
Days that surrounded the earth.
Did you feel yourself a conqueror
or a passenger?
Would you shout to the lonely depths
of the sea and the sky?
What reply did you expect to receive?
You,
pacing from bow to stern
knew every grain
every perfect connection had passed under your hand.
What confidence you had in Her!
And when she did betray
the punishment was borne by you.
From waters calm as ice
through waves that were avalanching mountains
across the infinite water forms
falling from all sides and above.
She carried you upon her decks
and into each youthful night
and the howl of longing solitude
and pitiless darkness.
When you heard the voice of the spray
the voice of the turtle
the voice of the sea
Did you recognize it
as your own?
