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and so began my mind diving; being
too sea deep – conscious thoughts
trying to swim underneath them; to see deep

and at its surface I had found…

us all being so beautiful – art in reflection
but we gaze at the bigger picture with ugly eyes,
an ugly gaze, with an ugly frame of mind

a tragic drowning picture, I could not see!
The sea, vast and mighty,
A love so deep and true,
With crystal blue waters,
And vibrant reefs that bloom,
Life abundant and colorful,
A swarm of the sea, dancing in tune.

I am drawn to the swarm of the sea,
The diversity of creatures that call it home,
From the tiny fish to the majestic whale,
Each one with a purpose, each one free to roam.

But even amid this watery delight,
I find myself captivated by a woman in sight,
With ebony hair that falls like silken strands,
And amber eyes that seem to understand.

She carries a dragon upon her back,
A symbol of strength, of courage and tact,
Yet in her presence, I feel only grace,
A sense of serenity, a gentle embrace.

Her movements are elegant, her touch so soft,
A warmth in her gaze that whispers aloft,
She exudes sensuality with every step,
Leaving me breathless, feeling inept.

Her presence is sensual, intoxicating,
I am mesmerized by her every move,
She is the calm in my tempest, the light in my darkness,
In her arms, I find solace, I find my groove.

Love knows no depth, it is unfathomable,
A mystery that we can never truly grasp,
It can be a tempest, unpredictable and wild,
Or it can be serene, a gentle clasp.

Find the one who brings you joy,
Who warms your heart with their gaze,
Who makes you feel safe and secure,
And brings balance to your days.

For love is a force,
A power beyond measure,
It can lift you up high,
Or bring you to your knees in despair.

But when you find the one,
The one that brings you joy,
Whose love matches your own,
You'll know true happiness.

In a world where love is shown,
Search for the one who warms your heart,
Who makes you feel safe, secure in their arms,
Who brings balance, extinguishing all alarms.

In the end, love is all that matters,
In all its forms and shapes,
For love is what makes us human,
It is what gives our lives their purpose, their stakes.

For love is a gift, a treasure to behold,
A bond that is precious, more valuable than gold,
So I seek the love that I have for thee,
In the depths of the sea, in the woman I see.
Chris Saitta Jan 21
From my new book, Poems of Ancient Rome and Greece, available in paperback on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as eBook on Kindle, Nook, and Apple Books:  https://www.amazon.com/Poems-Ancient-Greece-Christopher-Saitta/dp/B0DS6933HB?ref=astauthor_dp  

My mother the sea,
She woke my sandy eyes,
Just to tell me she had to leave,
Draw past the markets where the fish are sun-dried,
Snarled by the coral-rough hands of divers deep.

My mother the sea,
She left her running tab
Of the grocer’s choicest greens,
Thumbed the velamentous rinds and spiny scarola,
Her xylem and phloem are the slow moving cruciferousness of a breeze.

My mother the sea,
Charwoman of tides,
Who dips and delves upon her knees,
Who scrubs her brothel-coves with chamber lye,
Cyprian mistress of the salt-stained sheets.

I have looked for you, mother,
A scugnizzo amid the striped awnings of the marketplace
~ like sails to the sky ~
Where the fishmongers hawk their pride
Of conch, cavallo, and black sea bream.

I have looked for you, mother,
Walked sun-forged along the boardwalk,
Amid the neon-mascara of signs,
Hand-in-hand with only the ladyfingers of salt and vinegar fries,
Toward the crisp syllabub of pebbles and sand.

A beach is window-warmth spread free, cosmopolitan,
The longeur of eyes crushed in the glass-dust of cities.
And in the sputtering of the frosted spume of tides,
Held broken seashells in my hands like broken needles,
Heard the pump-click of the ventilator through your mask of sand.

My mother the sea,
A naked convalescent,
Whose ever-turnings have taken
A turn for the worse.
Who will know her by her death, who but me?
Notes:

“Velamentous” means membranous or membrane-covering, here to suggest melon rinds. “Scarola” is the Italian word for escarole, a leafy endive often used in salads.

“Xylem” and “phloem” are the water and food transport systems of plants, respectively. “Cruciferousness” is here intended to convey succulent green leafiness.

“Scugnizzo” is the Italian for a Neapolitan street urchin.

“Cavallo” is the Italian for horse but also refers to the crevalle jack fish, a large fish from the horse mackerel family, from which it derives its name. “Cavallo” was assimilated into the English language by 17th century navigators.

“Syllabub” here refers to the frothy beach edge of sand and tide.
I stood by the shore,
Watching the waves pass through,
feeling its currents go against my feet.
The force was strong.
The water was cold.
My toes gripped firmly to the sand.
I could not move forward.
I did not want to move forward.
If it's this much here,
it must be worse there.
Little did I know that,
what lies ahead is better.
For as you go deeper,
water embraces more of your parts--
your body adapts to its temperature.
And there, the waves once so intimidating are calm.
In the once noble house,
almost all is taken except
The walls, the lath, now held on
by a cleat of wood and lace
that redeems the letcher,
denizen of Sussex wetlands.
Of late the chalet is latched
only by hate, and the letch
chats with outlaws in the storm's eclat
of thunder far off.
No knights or maidens remain,
nor any ruler of demesne
and the treasure is born
off to other kingdoms.
The well is dry and
fields are bare.
And in the end, all depart.
leaving doors open to the wind
and gate down to the woods.
And broken the way
down to the sea.
I can't recall what prompted writing this, but my guess would be a movie or  a program about some medieval castle?
In the dim night without stars,
I sail on the lonely sea
There are times I wish return,
Tracing the gentle light from the lighthouse of memories
But I realize, I can’t fight the current of your love that has docked.

People say, time is a wise sailor,
Guiding the ship of my heart to calm
But often, I get lost,
Choosing to drift away from the lighthouse’s light
The farther I go, the more I lose your light.

The beginning of this journey was like sailing in a storm,
Waves of doubt crashing mercilessly
But as time goes on, the winds become friendlier,
Carrying my ship towards calm waters
The longer I sail, the easier it is to navigate my heart.

Now in the ocean of dreams,
I continue the voyage we once planned
Though without you, I repair all the damage to my ship
I don’t know, the hardness of the coral reef, as hard as the belief that you still pray for me
Be happy, my lighthouse, I have come this far.
Saman Badam Jan 1
Tide Tales

I sit at the sea in a tiny boat,
With a fishing rod and in my brown coat,
The tides' tussle hum like siren singers!
Fish-less, bait-less, while the winter lingers.

The seagulls watching from sky, chuckling-
While even sea foam giggles, bubbling,
Is the sea as green as my seasick face?
I check if my hands look cold blue, in case.

I would even welcome a shark right now,
Even pirates will get a hearty bow!
Yet all I get is the sea's salty spray,
Sea spitting raspberries, joining the fray.

Sighing, I start packing my fishing rod,
But, stop as it somehow catches a cod!
It thrashes in attack at rod half packed,
And under the waves my sole rod gets dragged.

"You think that would stop me!" I shake my fist,
"Oh! When will you learn?" the waves crash and twist.
Next day I return with a weighted net,
Bringing fishes back home, my goal is set.

From today's dark grey sky, the seagulls hide,
Minding it not, I throw the net star-side.
I see the rope-less net just as it falls,
Powerless, as the net sinks to sea halls.

I oar back home, having lost our wager,
By now plotting of new ways to badger.
Huffing, puffing, I heave the heavy oars,
To enjoy my rest ere oncoming wars.

A sudden tailwind pushes me shoreward,
And the helpful waves urge my oars onward.
I think I have won a new friend today—
Delight, like having an early birthday.

Now I know it is not kind nor unkind,
The sea's not to such mortal traps confined,
For such an ancient thing it's like a child,
Now and then serene, but oftentimes wild.

We continue for years thirty and one,
A score of wagers lost; a dozen won.
Until I am too frail to row again,
And so, on shore I feel my friend's tear stain.
Mounir Laroussi Dec 2024
A sea like no other sea.

Theater of the Odyssey,

and of Cleopatra and Anthony.

The sea  

of war and of peace.

Cradle of known civilizations,

and jealous keeper of secrets

of civilizations yet unknown.



To me, it is simply

the sea

where I took my first swim,

panicked and sunk like a stone,

pulled down by the wrath of Poseidon,  

that eternally angry god of the Greeks,

who, it was said, lived a thousand fathoms below.

But a strong hand quickly snatched me, lifted me up,

and at the surface I saw a reassuring face smiling at me.

My father was standing in chest deep water,  

and I heard him saying,

“son, you got to keep your legs and arms moving.”



To me, it is simply

the sea  

where I fell in love with the Mediterranean blue,

where I lingered long summer hours at the shore

lazily dreaming,

about people and lands  

beyond the faraway infinite line,

that elusive border  

separating two magical shades of the azure.
Carlo C Gomez Dec 2024
~
Hand and needle,
weapons of mass protection.
Mending day called solace,
bitterness in every stitch.
When all guides disappear
the hand begins to tremble,
that is the material point.
Listen to the water,
the sea is full of memories.
It knows everything,
it feels nothing.

A rage is building.
The sails unfurl,
the wind follows.
A hundred years of
traversing the deep
on a ship full of opiates
and other distant mermaids.
This blood vessel,
cresting the heart of the wave,
you will never completely cross
this body of water
until you learn to trust
the hands that hold back
death and it's squall.

Even now they drop anchor, singing
into the starry sky:

"Gather ye fishermen's wives
As thy men roll out to sea
Pray one and all
Thy sails hold strong this day..."

~
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