Refrain of the Sea

’Know thyself,”

choruses the refrain of the sea

Know when my tides

are ebbing and waning

Know where I flow

when I drift out to sea

wearing white knickers.

Feel sun’s lips on my foam.

Separate my colors and moods,

aquamarine of my soul.

Know what’s floating

on the other side

of the horizon, beckoning.

Assimilate myself boldly

into jettisoned sea life

embraced in my palms.

Count the grains of sand

sprinkled on windswept shores.

Caress the ships

rocking in my arms,

bringing brave sailors

safely home to their harbor.

Know that I am powerful

and can cause great harm.

Simultaneously,

my strength can

carry a tiny speck

on my white shoulders

across the expanses.

“Know thyself,”

I echo through surf

to my wet progeny,

“Surge forth

in life’s moisture

drinking your fill.”