Herculean Oceans, (1-10)

The below set of sea poems, Herculean Oceans, were written in reverence and honor to the beauty and power of our wondrous oceans. They are written in varying poetic styles. All have been previously published, they are contained here complete in one cohesive work. I wrote them in the hope they might instill a love and respect for our vital oceans and our part in protecting these life giving treasures. A small sampling below: Oceans smile in salt stained innocence And charm through a strangeness unveiled Above the waters in the fountain of their tears; And on those solitary nights When the moon hangs in breathless kiss floating in timeless ecstasy, Reflecting waters, moonlit alchemy, Communing with a starry sea, Composing in unnumbered symphonies. The above lines taken from the poem, 'Composing In Unnumbered Symphonies.' 1) Riptides Of Fevered Devotion 2) Altar Of Poetic Death 3) Vassals Of The Sea 4) Teeming With Life In Evolution's Maze 5) Dangling From The Ceilinged Sky 6) Mounting The Saddle Of The Moon 7) Birthing Infant Waves 8) Lighting The Skies In Velvet Plumes 9) Composing In Unnumbered Symphonies 10) Theirs But To Fill Riptides Of Fevered Devotion (1) Herculean oceans, unlike all other beings, In calming presence or in windswept waves Reflecting splendor or minacious doom Gifting to our eyes tributes all their own, What admiral adventure the sea brings! The greatest lakes may erringly assume, In their mountain beds and plush woodland homes, To be their equals in scope and pleasure, Are they not fed from the valiant rivers; But, still can hear the rolling tides seethe and rave In the dark channels of the salt ravines, Upon the waters of the blue tinged vales, Through liquid breath that scents the crystal air, Cloud bursts, fickle sunlight's reclusive beams, Thunder's gregarious light charged legions come down Attracted by the ocean's glistening crown; Tidal mountains bursting in orange flame Commensurate with dusk drenched evening skies And each shard of sun whipped brilliance clinging To the riptides of fevered devotion; Sword like unsheathed winds with slaughterous aim Amassed with four mighty arms swinging In ecstatic rhythms, harmonizing With harp plucked strings of a rainbow sweep Arching between ribbed ethereal sails Atomizing colors in naked sleep; Caverns echoing with deep commotion Listening to the grinding of earthly faults Enwrapped within their own coarse legacy Movements not even the oceans can constrain, Though gifted with their own ceaseless motion, Rumbling along a wide and raucous path Cadent disturbances when once aroused Pound warring chests that heave beneath the ground! Altar Of Poetic Death (2) Fearsome ocean! Lone mystery to me, In sublime trance upon these waters strange, What moves below in darkened fantasy? I cry out but my words drift in dismay! How then to bear this unknown influence This unrequited love bound up in chains? Whole of beauty heard in pure timeless sound, I float helplessly, wingless on the waves Food for creatures with cold unfeeling eyes; Unbidden, then I the unwelcome guest At a loss for more gifted words of praise, Past years rethought, a mind that once glowed bright Gasping with each painfully uttered breath; But, from some phantom light an image raised A more robust, younger, enticing one Its marvelous thoughts and dreams outnumbering The days and nights slain in wasted slumber. My eyes turn upward, waiting there on high Posey tightly curled in creation's womb, Tearing in joy with spiritual salvation I reach for that faint glowing in the sky Pulling it deep within my shuddering breast And pray to the unclad chiseled statues Decorating the altar of poetic death. Vassals Of The Sea (3) What spirits thrive in the bowels of these remote worlds For they are life exemplified by trenchant cold, These spirits cannot fail! They must never die! They hold the keys to a mighty realm, the keepers Of the abyssal plain who walk the ocean floor. Seafaring men have spoke of these unearthly forms Satiating their hearts with foreboding and fear; Outlines of ghoulish shapes in tempestuous storm Erubescent manifestations thinly veiled On shifting tundras unfathomably deep Where the voluminous waves mingle evenly spread Gathering within themselves and mightily peak Crashing down like edifices of liquid stone. Some in their ignorance might call them hideous, Scarred and riven faced with glowering caustic eyes, Crude and elementary as all monsters seem; Still their hearts pledged in sweet dalliance with the sun And bask in the soothing trails of calm moonlit scenes Voicing love that rises through the depths of silence Forever enveloped by unbreakable vows, A godsend to man, though man disassociates Forgetting his original position, bowed. Trapped beneath a crushing wilderness, deeds unsung, Despite manmade menace, faithful, steadfast and mild With peaceful solemnity will they always be Staunch valiant caretakers and vassals of the sea. In formidable currents to be reconciled, May their gracious selfless acts never be repealed By man, their presence novel but misunderstood, As we ourselves are predisposed for greater good Together in a pact our lives and theirs will seal, To fully give ourselves to Herculean Oceans We can redeem ourselves, we can begin to heal. Teeming With Life In Evolution's Maze (4) The tides, the waves, the floods, though boundless stream Return back those waters to where they dwell, Unquenchable, untamed heaving basins Fueling the ire of homespun hurricanes In allegiance to their cause. Oceans dream Impinging upon landscapes in their sleep And by the feeblest margins are they bound, When with wolf like presence suddenly leap Laying claim to the humble works of man And all separated from them at birth Reunited forever in the sea; All things warm and green, that live, breathe and sound, Things that walk, fly, creep or prowl, every dell, Chasm, valley in mute tranquility, That which is high and inaccessible enveloped by the waters of the earth, For these their prey even the far mountains Ages rose, spread as young foundations creeped; Harvesting the falls, geysers and fountains And ancestors trapped deep in glacial ice. Mankind's doom, felled from his vain pinnacle That no sun or moon, no mortal power Can prevent this relentless siege on life. No more a city, a deluge, a ruin! Will man's screams be heard through the rain drenched skies? A perpetual vat churning, stewing, Encircling trees and lakes and rich sweet soil. I shutter as our world is drawn down But pay homage to Herculean Oceans For by our own waste we are overthrown. Glaring then this image, a man less world, Never can he reclaim his dwelling place, What once his home now forever spoiled And all the working's of his mind are gone. Total annihilation of a race Remnants swirling in tumultuous swells. On this aquatic world warm sunlight beams Perhaps live cells of humanity cling Like mucous to the walls of air filled caves And a novel spark of creation gleams As the waters acquiesce and recede Returning to the place of their dwelling And leave in their wake majestic rivers. From the land dormant seeds rekindling As the greening age of paradise flows Teeming with life in evolution's maze Something new, unique, unhuman moves there Taking its first breath, struggling in the salt charged air. Dangling From The Ceilinged Sky (5) Ocean winds stroke the waters here below While they weave their tapestries as they pass Throughout the clouds, their threads of silken white Dangling from the ceilinged sky, briefly cast, Drifting on the breeze in spooling hours Mixed formations sewn in lightest wisps Reflected by the waves flowing under Wondering how each piece so tightly fits, Seeming to waver in constant motion Struggling to wander off and break free, Dangling on the ends of patterned loops Giving their treasured works back to the sea; Rising higher, mounting each tiny rill, Then suddenly streak in wild commotion Dissolving into warm vaporous mist Until just a slight glimpse of them remains, For the sun is bored and no longer smiles And the wind refocused mightily strains Bursting them in the guise of woven rains. Mounting The Saddle Of The Moon (6) Herculean Oceans habitually bear The weighty presence of their flowing might; Soft winds coo them with fragrant lover's breath Evoking ripples in the star drenched night, At times mounting the saddle of the moon Riding out the tides as they yawn and stretch, Ever deeper they go in dark descent In the bonds of the elements they share. Perhaps the dozing sun has to contend With waiting flowers eager to enter His well lit home, smiling breaks his rest Slowly opening his circular door. The wind is busy flirting, oceans brood Accustomed to a life of solitude; Bringing their secret thoughts to fruition, Harnessing their strength, binds that contain them Loosening, fluid bodies of the sea Quietly hungering for things out there In the green landscapes of imaginings, To fill this world and all its vacant tendencies. Birthing Infant Waves (7) Oceans pulse and breathe, Rhythmic tides their breath Through veiled partitions Eyes submerged in rest; Counting patterned stars, Phases of the moon, As they slowly drift to sleep Her fingers gently pull, Covered in their wavy beds By sheets of lurid blue. Unconcerned what time they wake Though somewhere it is morn For their many days are spread Across this lovely world, Soon arising with the sun And birthing infant waves In the waters of this calm, Life, wonderful and strange. Lighting The Skies In Velvet Plumes (8) Across the coasts in rushing sweeps Enchanting is that ocean sound When it combs the sand and scrubs the beach; The wrestling pebbles might respond Clattering against the shore In distinctive flips of smooth round stones, While the seagulls pluck and pick and blink Sun is shifting on its fiery seat, Soft winds whispering in gossipy tones Whom had seen the most of this world. All descendants of that primal power Joined in marriage with mist and cloud On the dawning of that first solar day, Consummating love through the virgin night, In fibrous sheets they roamed and loomed Lighting the skies in velvet plumes And wrapped this earth in nature's robe. Ah! So wild and wide and beautiful! As the twin lights of sky unfolded; As winds blew, this shapeless maiden Took form, a sight no mortal eye beheld, braided with forests, dells, mountain flowers And in her hand a frozen wand Of majestic sapphire blue And smote it down upon this earth And to all the oceans gave liquid birth! Composing In Unnumbered Symphonies (9) Oceans of this impenetrable world! Mystery lies within their deep embrace Harmonizing waves sounding out their song In solemn strains, that music which is loved, Surmounting choirs on towering steps Emerging from the shadow of the depths. Melodious tunes from their surface spread In movements and symphonies of flowing grace, Then chanting earth songs in crude native breath; Unstoppable, uncounted as the hours, Voiceless throats that rise in pulsing power Accompany their soulful offerings, Traveling far and wide, Echoing from the mountains and the hills Influencing life with unbroken will. Oceans smile in salt stained innocence And charm through a strangeness unveiled Above the waters in the fountain of their tears; And on those solitary nights When the moon hangs in breathless kiss floating in timeless ecstasy, Reflecting waters, moonlit alchemy, Communing with a starry sea, Composing in unnumbered symphonies. Theirs But To Fill (10) Oceans move, eons till their race be won Horseless atop the earth and sinking sun; Unclouded skies, delirious and bright Tremulous ride the waves in living light, Mavericks bucking wildly as they throw And thrash about unsettled deep below, Their journey long, an endless wide expanse Contained by shores as powerful and vast. By divine ordain these treasures given, By tenderest winds their massive bodies driven; Within basins they sensually pour Passion mounting while fingering the shore, To touch, to leave their essence on the sand To cradle earth within their liquid hand; A precious sadness lingers on them still, Their existence level, theirs but to fill.