The Sea and I

Once I was sand dab small urchin of the tides shrieking with the gulls on my blanket of sand and head high as the waves I was playmate to the sea One and one were we under the clouds of foam . . . Sand crabs tickled my toddles The conch sang hushabies of the surf The horses of the sea whinnied the tunes of my periwinkle dreams . . . . . . Who sells cockles for my suckle? Who can cuddle stars to sleep? What Sandman rock-a-byes yesternight’s cradle? All the sun long day I melted from green to gold holding the hand of the sea for only a rainbow long and gathering handfuls of mist I was Captain of the tides . . . Dolphins dipped to my horn The turrets of my castles trembled the wind The shrill of my whistle shivered the still of the serpent’s lair . . . . . . Who can ride the ebbless tide? Who can borrow wings from the wind? What Sandman can cool the burn of my yearnings? Each stolen night and day I streaming down the shore danced the fire dance in the tongues of the leaping waves Neptune strong Colossus high I strode the shallow deep Buccaneer of the boundless main Captain Hook of my mussel fleet . . . The peaks of my mountains scraped the clouds The crash of my drumbeats thundered the sky The sting of the salty spray blurred my lordly eyes Hickory Dickory heedlessly I waded the Gulliver shore While sands of the hourglass trails trickled forever by . . . . . . Who can caress the foam? Who can touch nevermore? What Sandman can dry the tears of the sea? – Harley White < 1968 >