Sybil Austin Skakle

Beneath cloud-free skies, I’ve often seen you

Your surface as calm as ocean can be

Watched in awe your fury as thunderous

 Waves sent spray skyward

I have tasted your brine upon my tender lips

Buoyant in your arms under the hot sun

Have watched the sea gulls soar above me

Seen sun rise from horizon’s rosy edge

And moon cast silver upon your dark face

Listened to your lullaby, as I slumbered   

Shared with you joy, betrayal and sorrow 

Sought your comfort and counsel in trials

Known your moods in summer, spring, winter, fall

Your azure expanse reaches beyond view

Your depths are like mysteries of Heaven

Atlantic Ocean, heard at my birth,

My remains at death will lie near your voice.

This poem first appeared in A Celebration of Poets,

Published by the International Library of Poetry, 1998