Oosterschelde / Thalassa
barely a month
into a new year
when God gave
us a clean start
we had not kept
our resolutions
he did not let us
build our arcs
when the sea finally came to claim us
if we are people of the sea
we too should live in salt
she nurtured our children
the sea is their mother too
let there be no distinction between us
she was jealous
of our earthly
encampments
she swallowed
pigs chickens
houses children
grandmothers
windows roofs
our livelihoods
we had drained the sea as we pleased
of her mussels and oysters
on the beach we pranced
with sea weed necklaces
pearls on our collarbones
now she demanded sacrificial virgins
in gratitude for
harvests aplenty
from a supplier
turner overseer
we had to give
not only sons
and daughters
but hundreds
of neighbours
we could not afford to mourn the dead
our people are workhorses
ploughing through debris
of our minds and houses
brooding over solutions
building barricades in cities and hearts
how to boycott
part of yourself
we grew up in
dunes and waves
underestimating
the killing force
that would make
the history books
generating fears
our sore limbs laboured decades long
to build two strong arms
that would keep us safe
slam the door in the face
of the mother that fed us
imprisoned and tamed by our fences
teach a lesson
to the children
never to trust
only to take
never to ask
the
surge
overhead
tides wash
the shoreline
cleaning all the
white foam froth
the back and forth
ebb and flow waltz
the waves retracting
back home where they
return to father Poseidon
dwelling the seas to finally
arrive at a silvery cave where
they find a loving embrace into
those slender arms of the Nereids
a magical chorus of maiden sisters
untangling their long hair they sing
from their salty lips they harmonize
the choral of the wandering waves
recounting their odyssey in song
how they returned ships adrift
back to lost harbour homes
and how they lent speed
to jumping dolphins
applauding them
and cushioning
deep plunges
they have let
sea gulls float
and terns feed
how they parted
for the splash of a
whale’s tail crashing
they have gushed over
coral damaged and bleak
the salty tears of memory
they have placed a kiss on
the heads of sea urchins
in spite of their spikes
and on shells laying
on pillows of sand
they witnessed as
the parrot fish
creates in his
sleep a bubble
where he is safe
from lurking danger
kissing him goodnight
wishing for his safety
beholding a glowing
bioluminescence
counting stars
of algae
know
that
it
all
flows
through
the waves
knowing that
all is loved
by the
salt