OUT TO SEA
Oh, to be home again!
To hear the crash of the waves,
Destroying my tension, and
The shore hissing away
My worries and stress.
To hear the gulls echo their song,
Soothing me as they call:
"Welcome! Welcome home!"
To see the sun sprinkle it's light
Across its watery domain.
To see the power and determination
Rising in the waves.
To see the jagged rocks showering,
Cleansing in gentle sprays of water.
Oh, to be home again!
To feel the wind caress my hair;
To soak my lungs in the sweet, salt smell.
To feel the sand tickle my toes, and
The water rush over my feet;
Taking my turmoil with it
As it returns out to sea. . .
Out to sea.
To feel the waves curl over my problems
And take them
Out to sea.
There was a time I wished I could go
Instead of them.
Oh, how I wanted to float away
Softly, silently,
Float away from this thing called life
On a one-way trip
Out to sea. . .
Yet the sea would not let me.
The sea would not take me
Out to sea.
The sea took my problems instead of me.
Was I not worthy?
Why was I stranded on hard, cold rock
As my weigh won the privilege
Of floating out to sea?
What was keeping me
From such tranquility?
The sea took my weight from me
Instead of my life.
How could I enjoy
What the sea does for me
If I join with it?
How could I accept what it gives me
If I give it my life?
There is more to reality-
There is more to the sea
Than what I hear from it. . .
See from it. . .
Feel from it. . .
My death would feed life if it went out to sea.
I cannot let that be.
My life on this rock can send better gifts
Out to sea.
I can enjoy the sea.
I can reap its rewards,
And glean strength from the harvest.
From here I can live
To help and protect that which loves me;
That which gives comfort and takes my love
Out to sea. . .
In such a way
I can be a part of the sea
As it is part of me.
The effects of my life
Will forever remain
As they float out to sea. . .
Out to sea.
--Layson Williams, 1995