The Ocean:

I want to show you the ocean

the coast, the shore, the rocks

the salted sea breeze, the birds

and how the trees crawl their way

almost to the very edge of the sea

I want you to understand how 

the seagulls glide through the clouded sky

calling to the ocean, for all to hear

for all to know that they are free

free, where the forest meets the sea

I want you to feel the ocean's spray

to walk across the moistened sand

and climb the rocky cliffs

that lean out into ocean's arms

longing to be one with the ebbing tide

I want you to search for starfish 

among the boulders that stand resolutely 

on the beach, and listen to their counsel

as they wait, faithfully

for the tide to take them home again

I want you to hear the waves 

as they break along the shore

they speak of peace and supreme 

confidence, that everything 

will always turn out all right

I want you to venture out

into the near frozen surf

simply to say you've done it

to know you have touched the ocean

that you have communed with the sea

I want you to watch the tide slowly rise

and then follow it as it beckons you out

away from the shore, onto the sand

as if it was here, that you will

first, truly, meet yourself

I want you to feel the wind's embrace

as it reminds you that I will aways

be there, like the sand and the rocks

and the cliffs and the birds and the trees

just like the ocean, I will never leave you

I want you to stand where I have stood

watching the sun set beyond the horizon

to feel the cool night surround you

as the sun is swallowed into the depths 

of the boundless sea, awaiting patiently

for the dawn

I want you to feel the freedom

that the seagulls feel

as you run along the beach

with your arms spread out wide

trying to catch the wind, convinced

it will carry you away

I want you to feel the bliss

of the trees that wander so close 

to the water's edge to watch the horizon 

and to share the sky with the gulls

whom the ocean, herself, has set free

I want to show you the ocean

the coast, the shore, the rocks

the salted sea breeze, the birds

and how everything becomes clearer

here, where the forest meets the sea