To The Sea Poem by Leinad Zerimar

Born from the dust of ages,
The Mountain rises into heaven;
A burnished marvel within the arresting blue
Of the celestial dome that encircles him.
At the birth of dayspring,
Winged avions cry out as they soar
Through the drafts from his base,
Singing his praise
As the most most respected of all creation.
He ascends above the rest of the Earth,
But does not rule over it:
To the East lies the land,
Trackless, changeless, and stolid;
To the West lies the Sea,
Her cerulean brilliance reflecting troubled skies...

Formed from the mists of time,
The Sea stretches with lunar yaw;
A glittering marvel within the hazel shores
Of the terrestrial curtain that encircles her.
At the birth of dayspring,
Winged avions cry out as they soar
Through the drafts from her bay,
Singing her praise
As the most most beloved of all creation.
She is parallel with the rest of the Earth,
But it is held in her sway:
To the West lies the abyss,
Fathomless, formless, and stoic;
To the East lies the Mountain,
His sage face anchored afore troubled skies...

Prismatic shards of light frolic and swing
Across the Sea's shallow frame.
She waves to him,
Stirring the immovable Mountain
In his rocky space.
'Why do you look at me so? '
The Sea asks of the Mountain,
'In all creation, '
The Mountain says of the Sea,
'You are most beautiful.'

'Why do you hold me so high? '
Inquires the Sea,
'Are not the clouds enough for you? '
'You are truly magnificent, '
Replies the Mountain,
'From your voluptuous furrows -
Every cadence a flourish of life -
To your hidden depths,
Hungry and full of wonder.
The clouds are as nothing, by compare,
And I long to kneel to you.'

'Do not idolize me! '
Roars the Sea,
'What you seek is merely a reflection of heaven!
You have no idea what lies in my depths,
And deep waters do not run still! '
Briskly, the Sea spurns the Mountain
And withdraws.

'I have no wish to worship you, '
Whispers the Mountain alone,
'Rather,
I wish to lift you up to me
As I lower myself to you,
That we might one day be joined.'
But the angry thunder of her surf
Drowns his meekly spoken words.

As the last star of morning
Settles beyond the Sea,
Its waning light bestows upon her
A halo of fire.
Spellbound, his gaze is caught
By her sapphire curves,
Which seem to dance for him alone
In the falling light.
But, her crests and troughs
Pulsate against increasingly ferocious
And blood-red skies...

As the last star of morning
Lounges athwart the Mountain,
Its waning light bestows upon him
A corona of fire.
Enchanted, her eye is caught
By the Mountain's forested palisades,
Which seem to shine for her alone
In the falling light.
But, his peaks and foundations
Are steeled against a ruthless gale
And blood-red skies...

Precipitous gusts sweep in from the South;
A harbinger of vile smog
Surges towards the Mountain.
Blindly,
She reaches out to him,
But finds him unreachable.
Darkly,
He faces the war to come.

The Mountain stands alone in the storm.
Wind - always his enemy -
Buffets and batters him perpetually,
While gloom and precipitation
Cloaks the beauty of the Sea.
Cloudbursts torment him
With memories of her;
Washing away his character,
Eroding his will to endure.

The Sea is tossed alone in the storm.
Wind - despoiling her peace -
Thrashes and trounces her perpetually,
While blackness and mist
Occludes the Mountain's bloom.
Tears of rain fling to the sky
With memories of him;
Lessening her spirit,
Abrading her will to stay.

Through a constant river
The Mountain sends the rain back to her,
Like an endless stream of unspent desire.
Though it slowly breaks him to do so,
He knows it will replenish her spirit,
Allowing the memory of her to live on.
The river brings to the Sea longing,
Memories of a brief time of joy
Before the end of innocence.
Through squall and apprehension,
The storm-wind becomes their song:
A bleak symphony of their lamentation.

Embattled,
The Mountain rises against the angry sky
And the Sea holds tightly her vaults.
Together, their insurmountable resolve
Breaks the loathsome tempest,
Scattering its worthless brume
To the ends of the Earth.
A calm descends
Upon the Mountain and the Sea,
As the moon casts a Cimmerian shade
over their embrace.

Gently, the Sea laps at the Mountain's base
And the Mountain reaches down to her bay.
Steadily, the Mountain sends his messages to the Sea
And the Sea drapes herself over his coastlines.
As the brightest star
Again swings high over agrarian skies,
The Mountain takes note of her azure smile
And the Sea sighs at his emerald fleer.

And so it was,
That the Sea rose to him,
And the Mountain ceded to her,
Until, in the fullness of time,
The Mountain joined the Sea,
Root to shoal.