An Ode to the Ocean Mother: A Nature Poem

 An Ode to the Ocean Mother: A Nature Poem

A poem inspired by the glory of the sea on the sands of Udupi, a seaside town in Karnataka, India.

O Ocean Mother! The epitome of warmth

An expanse of warmth you bear, west, east; south, north.

O Divinity! The epitome of grace

A depth of grace you bear, a limitless base.

O Wise Mother! The epitome of productive thought

An eternal blue of timeless teachings you bear, which can be erased not.

O Thalassa! Two faces you certainly are,

Thy love is all-sugar, but thy wrath is sour.

Thy venerable vastness makes one feel small

Thy unbound turquoise waters subside one's ego, howsoever tall,

But

Thy venerable vastness brightens thy Athena-like limitless charisma,

Thy unbound aquamarine waters uplift one's confidence in calibre, a boon of the Thalassa.

O Mother!

Your crystal blue waters are appealing to the eyes

When the Sun's shimmering threads pierce the white pearls in the highs

And, when the gusty winds ripple your water through multiple tries.

I am overwhelmed by the myriad creatures that call your fathomless abyss their only abode,

You are but a mother in whose heart's darkest chamber lies love; love that doesn't mind carrying the load.

O Mother!

Your crystal blue waters turn darker shades

When respect for your generosity, sadly fades

And, when animalistic traits access the reigns of the human mind,

Compulsive hunger and fear of starvation cripple the human and bind.

Down go death nets to trap creatures innocent

Up come fish-filled nets with a fatal scent,

A sign that her sanctity has been marred.

She silently weeps, but waits for the right time to strike hard.

Anger reigns supreme and her waters boil

When her adornments become plastic and oil.

Her vicious side is slowly revealed,

As her waters rise to swallow humanity, to earn justice for herself - the bereaved.

O Mother!

Your extreme dual nature we now know,

But, your inspiring wisdom we can't let go.

In your ancient foamy waters, lie bubbles of truth,

The theme of Human Impermanence, at its very root

That human bonds and experiences are of an ephemeral nature

Waves rise and fall, and hence are of a similar stature

An upsurge is invariably followed by a crash at the shore

Waves unite with their Ocean Mother to begin life again, once more

Shells are but memories encapsulated, and are remnants of waves long gone

They too are temporary and shall soon be gone

The Ocean Mother pulls 'us' to her bosom, her heart

And, 'we' unite with the universal truth, not a slice but the complete tart.

Gaurav Chandra Tuli