BY RUCHIRA GHOSH

 

O beautiful, enigmatic ocean,

What secrets lie hidden in your bosom?

O mighty ocean you fill human hearts,

With a sense of awe and fear.

Your latent energy & passion,

Come to the fore as towering waves.

Frothy, rippling waters hurtling down,

On the sandy shore, is music to the ears.

The roar of waves, has a certain rhythm.

Since the beginning of Time,

You enfolded the Earth in a loving embrace.

Land appeared from deep within you.

You watched when life first appeared,

An amoeba, formless, insignificant;

And how a lush green mantle,

Slowly draped the earth.

Relentless, never down and out,

Your translucent waters,

Continue to roll, day in & day out.

Every season, year after year.

Your ageless beauty and spirit,

Stood the test of Time.

In your belly lies a colourful world,

Swarming with sea anemone, starfish, sepia;

Reefs of coral, shells holding lustrous pearls.

The brave, plunge to unfathomable depths,

And marvel at the beauty therein.

You saw history being created,

When adventurous mariners;

Left their native shores.

Seeking wealth, power, land.

Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Aztecs,

Columbus  sailed west, discovered America.

Vasco da Gama set foot upon Indian soil,

Lured by fragrant spices..

You helped messengers of Christ,

Spread love peace & knowledge.

Sunny  isles nestle upon your breast,

Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Sicily…

Where nature lovers throng;

To drink the beauty in depth.

Humans dread you dark fury,

Sudden, unpredictable.

In a deluge unleashed by you,

Magnificent world of Atlantis,

Disappeared from the earth.

In bygone ages, shipwrecks galore,

Sent men, women  to their watery graves.

Treasure piled on ocean’ s floor.

Tsunamis, typhoons, hurricanes

Take  a toll of human lives.

Yet again when your mood is  serene

Your beauty is ethereal, peerless!