The Gifts of the Ocean

Art by Ness Song

I love the ocean and the waves it calls to me.

The lullabies that rocked the dock and - me to sleep as a little new-born on fishing trips.

So many summers shared on her shores.

Laughing, playing, eating, making friends in her waters.

Trudging up the sand after long days filled with magic, the sand and her sea, the salt and her water.

I miss her so. I miss the laughter of a family in tow.

Hand wrapped, glad wrapped sandwiches with crunchy sand inside.

Wet, cool, sticky fruit - juicy, dripping - stains and eskys carried by mum and dad and then later just mum.

We didn’t go to the beach as much anymore.

I am older now and I return to her shores - because I can’t stay away.

My body folds into her embrace and the weight shifts from my shoulders and my chest.

She takes it and holds it - tightly in her embrace. Whispering patience and love, shifting grief and sadness - to take its place.

With a deep knowing, as wide as the horizon.

That we are a single grain of sand, but we are also the ocean, held within.

I greet her as an old friend - I realise how important she has always been.

She calls to us all - a mother to a child.

Thank you for all you share with us.

I wrote this poem for Yenma Yenmalalibyila, an incredible publication produced by young people and self published and printed. It is a platform that is capable of sharing great art and insights.

Yenma Yenmalalibyila means let's walk together in the Dharug language of the Yuin and Eora Nation.

When we walk together, we showcase our inner human capacity for diverse healing and growth