Ocean's Tale
My name is Ocean.
If you listen, you will hear me speak.
but you must listen carefully,
or you will hear nothing
but the cacaphony of my waves
and tumbling pebbles at the shore.
Open your mind, and hear me
in the smallest splashes on the rocks,
in the swishing of the waves,
in the quiet times,
and I will tell you tales of a
wild ocean covering all land,
of great explosions of lava,
mountains pushing up from the deep.
Of microscopic life forming in my womb.
of sea animals growing legs
and learning to walk on land.
I will tell you of huge ships,
sails and steam, wood and iron,
crossing my vast reaches to
connect land with land, people with people.
I'll speak to you of ships
that wrestled with me and lost,
lying encrusted in my depths,
of treasures lost and treasures found.
Listen. Listen very carefully,
and you will hear something else.
You will hear the life of the sea,
fish and eels, whales, and mollusks,
strange creatures, the likes
of which you've never seen,
each a vital part of the chain of life.
Hear them cry out to you, "Respect us.
We are you, and you are we.
Destroy us, and you destroy yourselves.''
Listen. Listen and hear me speak.
I am Ocean, the cradle of life
and its nursery.
Care for my children.
Copyright ©
Barbara Peckham
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