Ocean Musings

A million points of light reflect off the water glittering like the facets of a jewel. The surface sparkles under the sun’s garish golden glow in an azure sky spotted with cotton wisps of clouds. A border of lush green land and a sepia tinted barrier of rocks stand as a promise to hold the storms at bay. Peace and calm linger within the walls built for a war long past. I am awash with tranquility as the gentle rock and sway of the waves lull me into a serene bliss; a deception by Neptune no less.
It is an illusion created by him to lure unsuspecting mortals into a labyrinth of the unknown like sirens singing their entrapment to foolish sailors following the chant to their deaths. Angry mermaids and mischievous Nereids longing for guests snatch us as helpless worms on hooks. I stare into the seemingly bottomless mossy green sea fearfully curious of what it holds. The murky depths below hold no light…..only darkness and danger. The sea swallows so many lives each year. Down to Davy Jones’ Locker they go, lost and gone; forever remembered but never found. My father the fisherman calls the sea the right hand of God and with good reason. This mysterious disciple of the Almighty is a formidable beast fraught with terrible power.
His vengeance is justified as I see floating detritus littering the face of his awesome pulchritude. The miasma of pollutants offends my olfactory senses and the slimy pools of oil refusing to disperse leave yet another hideous scar on the sea’s visage. Lining the docks are vividly colored ships with streaks of rust staining their flanks. Their brightly colored buoys bob softly in the lapping water. Barnacles stick stubbornly to their steel bows and sterns. The wake of a fast sprinting craft splashes against the starboard side and rolls under the ship disturbing the balance of our unworthy legs. The sea is speaking to me its reminder that we are only there because it allows us to be. The unconquerable demands our respect and obedience at all times.
On the sand we conduct a scavenger hunt of all the wonders discovered on the shore. Mussel shells lined with pearly walls, periwinkles sucking the sides of stones, tiny iridescent shells shimmering like fairy’s wings, side stepping crabs scurrying away at first sight of us and so many broken shells cover the sand like so many dreams & promises left shattered by mankind’s indifference.

-Selene Babaar