water world

water world

the ocean is a different world

some days, like today,

it can be almost as smooth as glass

shimmering with reflected light

most days the breeze ripples its surface

in varying degrees of intensity

putting down the anchor in a harbor

it can be hard to believe

how much rougher the open sea was

only moments earlier —

the winds churn it up

into chop and waves and whitecaps

while the currents below

build up the troughs and valleys

of deep ocean swells

underneath where the fish swim

it’s a magic make-believe world

of fantastic rock formations

and surreal saltwater plants

and sea creatures

snorkeling yesterday

we saw enormous purple fans

waving gracefully in the current well below us

we watched parrot fish in brilliant colors

grazing for edible nibbles

and a whole school of translucent ghost fish

sporting an elegant black and blue stripe down their backs

swam past just a few inches beneath us
oblivious of our presence

headed who knows where

the water is so different

from the land-world I know

I’m always being surprised by it

I don’t ever get comfortable with it

I marvel at it,

and it keeps me wary,

all in the same breath!

how did God make two worlds so vastly different

yet part of a single planet?

thursday 9 february

2017 after epiphany

Francis Bay, St. John