29 July 2020

Sacred Sea





From Morocco in North Africa where
the Atlas mountains gave the Atlantic
Ocean its name, to my two feet buried
in Jersey shore sand—what is not sacred?

The ocean holds more in its big belly
than we can know: skeletons of people,
cargo of slave trade and its dark secrets,
ship bones and treasures, plastic waste and more.

And of those who live in the sea, minnows
and shells, death and life in sharks at beaches,
pregnant Orca in pods, coral and plants
and innumerable species of fish.

Here at the Jersey shore I see myself
younger and swimming with dolphins, ready
to run from tasks God planned for me, ready
like Jonah, to be swallowed by a whale.

The sacred ocean would spit me out, dead
or alive, and send me on my journey.
I wish it would speak, wave after wave, tell
me where I am going in wet whispers.

Ocean is everything I know just now.
We share unvoiced history. We touch God
in each other, Remember what we share,
blue, green, brown, burnt, pale patternedlife on earth.






My blog poems are rough drafts.
   Please respect my copyright. 
 If you quote, credit this page.
     © 2020 Susan L. Chast

8 comments:

  1. "Ocean is everything I know right now." Me, too. Such a BEAUTIFUL poem, Susan. I love the whole idea of wishing the ocean would speak, wave after wave, for we need her wisdom, to learn how to not just survive, but endure. This was gorgeous to read and contemplate. And I learned something, too, about how the Atlantic got its name. The Pacific means "peace" - not sure how it got that lovely name. But I feel that peace, every time, at the shore.

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  2. Ocean is everything I know just now.
    We share unvoiced history. We touch God
    in each other ...

    God such a godly poem. I am baptized. - Brednan

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  3. Oh that resonates deeply... ready like Jonas to be swallowed by a whale... have been posting seascapes on instagram for some time ... not being able to go to the sea with the pandemic raging...

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  4. The ocean is our first home, and one I return to whenever time allows. I can feel how it speaks to you.

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  5. So beautiful and full. Lovely

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  6. This is very beautiful and profound. Suzanne of Wordpress blog - Mapping Uncertainty.

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