2005
Sea Spirit
Vaughn L. Brown
Mounted,
Steady on my horse;
I rode through the shallows of the sea:
The backs of the horse and I pressed by the wind,
The smell of the salt tainted air surrounded us,
Stepping carefully but with ease,
Sea Spirit carried me,
She stilled her movements with grace;
Turned her head to look at me with soft brown eyes,
Asking if she could turn back into the wind,
I responded with a gentle no—
“Jest one more mile,” I begged:
She agreed and went on.
In; out; in; out; in; out; in; out,
Swish; hiss, swish; hiss, swish; hiss, swish:
We soon turned and step by step went into the wind toward home;
Ducks cracked, gulls argued, sea lions barked,
None of this, plus other sounds, bothered Sea Spirit.
The seashore with the seashells and the many smells was her home,
She made it my home too;
The wind blew steadily into our faces,
Blowing her mane and tail so that they danced drunkenly,
Her body as a whole shown black, brown, white spots,
Sea Spirit was naturally stunning and beautiful
Due to the sand that blew through her fur, cleaning it with care and the wind
As she stepped along,
With gentle fingers pressed into her body;
Using the sand as soap,
Pressing under her,
Over her,
Pressing and cleaning her whole being;
Pressing through her
Giving her the power of life.
But one part did not get cleaned,
One part of her whole being and that part were covered by me.
The wind whispered to me that there was nothing to fear
That soon we would reach home and
Sea Spirit could be cleaned again.
Soon, as sure as the wind whispered to me,
We reached home.
I dismounted and the wind returned;
I left the handsome mare to be cleaned fully;
And after being washed of human presence,
Sea Spirit,
As I watched,
Turned and trotted away toward the cheering of the ocean where she belonged.
I let her go:
Knowing that Sea Spirit was not named wrongly,
For she belongs,
As the daughter of the sea.
Tears and regret and joy combined, came and left me,
And I slowly walked away,
Away from the sea. |