The dark malevolent clouds of dusk, daunting
however, they may be
have no effect
on those who listen deeply to the sea—
its voice both calming and rousing
is crusade of beauty,
emerald waves curling and foaming
are somewhat like a canvass
depicting what goes on inside one’s mind,
I hold on
and pay closer attention to depths that unfold.
To whoever it may concern, if you’re not
listening to the sea then
I suggest you let me bring it to you instead,
you might be wedged between
the day and its weight, stumbling on longitudes
and dealing with
peach gold inner incandescent explosions,
I don’t blame you,
I have had similar experiences before—
the sea cleanses one of anxiety and noise,
teaches both the art of letting go
and restraint,
pebbled shores and sound of overhead gulls,
I imagine a mermaid sings
somewhere close to the seabed,
a canto of sorts,
she too plunders left, plunders right
and runs into extremes,
is sensitive to touch and wishes to breathe
in more and more of salty scent.
Continuously I listen to the sea and everything
that it brings,
I, a Poet born in December, am not afraid
of its gray vaults—
the sea does not cater to those who are skeptical,
who shun the language of wetness,
of running, of chasing and of sand,
one must be willing enough to taste what’s foreign.
The strength of the sea is its eidetic memory,
roseate and quiet when the sun rises
early in the morning,
I want to be
softly consumed by ever speaking waves,
want to gather it inside a bowl so that
others may experience the same,
the sea is a Poet’s obligation to carry forth
melodious truth,
to translate hymns and smooth out a stranger’s pain.
The sea abysmal, the sea crystal,
cold, tremendous,
eerie with a cadence slow;
I write down whatever I can as starting point.
Photo credits: Pinterest
Loosely inspired by the poem ‘The Poet’s Obligation,’ by Pablo Neruda.
Lillian is our lovely hostess at dVerse where she invites us to write poetry
about the sea. Come join us! 💝
Posted for Poetics: By the Beautiful Sea @dVerse Poets Pub
24 Responses
This is stunningly beautiful! I am especially smitten with these lines:
“the sea cleanses one of anxiety and noise,
teaches both the art of letting go
and restraint, ”
and
“the sea is a Poet’s obligation to carry forth
melodious truth,
to translate hymns and smooth out a stranger’s pain. ”
Absolutely beautiful, Sanaa….and the illustration you’ve chosen as well!
Thank you so much, Lillian 🥰 so glad you enjoyed it! 💄❤️
(and thank you for the glorious prompt) 🥂
A wonderful description of everything the sea means for a poet. I read that it is both prison and freedom, a blessed curse so to speak. Still it feels safe on those wonderful pebbled shores.
Absolutely! Thank you so much, Bjorn 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Having lived by the sea, your poem resonates with me, Sanaa, and you have captured all that the sea means to a poet, from ‘its voice both calming and rousing ‘and the ‘emerald waves curling and foaming ‘ to the way ‘the sea cleanses one of anxiety and noise’. I especially enjoyed these lines:
‘The strength of the sea is its eidetic memory,
roseate and quiet when the sun rises
early in the morning’
and
‘the sea is a Poet’s obligation to carry forth
melodious truth,
to translate hymns and smooth out a stranger’s pain’.
Awww gosh! Thank you so much, Kim 😍 so glad you liked it! 💄❤️
Your poetry is always experienced, not just read.
And here, your conversation both with, and about the sea reads like the waves themselves, and I imagine the person standing there, exactly as in your wonderful image, speaking her words to the wind.
Truly I enjoy reading such verse so much, but I imagine read aloud it gives even more.
Thank you so much, Ain 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you 💄❤️
Gorgeous!
❤️❤️❤️
The many faces and colors of the sea. It can be calming, angry, mysterious, cleansing and so on. It is magnificent like your poem Sanaa ☺️❤️
Thank you so much, Christine 😀 so glad you enjoyed it 💄❤️
“Stumbling on longitudes” This line and everything else is incredible. Stellar writing, Sanaa. 🙂
Thank you so much, Kitty 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
Sanaa – even when writing about an inanimate, albeit animated subject such as the sea, we have come to expect a sensual tour de force and once more you do not disappoint…
– peach gold inner incandescent explosions
– the language of wetness
– one must be willing enough to taste what’s foreign
– roseate and quiet when the sun rises
– softly consumed by ever speaking waves
it’s all beautiful Sanaa
Thank you so much, Andrew 😀 so glad the poem and its imagery appealed to you 💄❤️
Lovely imagery,Sanaa.
Thank you so much, Judy 😀 so good to see you 💄❤️
Hello, Saana, your poem is very beautiful. I have always loved the ocean and your poem reminds me why.
Thank you so much, Robbie 😀 so glad you liked it 💄❤️
From the image you chose (I want that skirt) through the last line … pure unadulterated loveliness. And Andrew said it well … the sensuous side of Sanaa is the side we’ve come to know. And enjoy.
Awwww gosh! Thank you so much, my dear Helen 😍 so glad you appreciated the poem (and my sensuous side haha)💄❤️
Sending love! 🥂
This is breathtakingly gorgeous.
This stood out for me:
“you might be wedged between
the day and its weight, stumbling on longitudes
and dealing with
peach gold inner incandescent explosions,
a gripping poem, Sanaa. one question – 4th to last line – abysmal and abyssal are synonyms, but often the former also alludes to misery…