It was the sign that seeded this pearl. I may add to it later, the parts I hacked off. The verse let me have fun with some weak attempts at alliteration.
Subtract the stygian from the sea
for a theatre of the absurd. Aren't we
fancy oysters frustratedly filtering out
sand, then spitting satiny pearls or dolphins
skimming the surface in synchronized breath ?
~ poetry in motion, TBC
In that abysmal depth
rests abject verse, stuttering
in profound exhaustion
of meaning. The hull
was riddled in holes
of a debilitating
introspection
and she is simply
a sunken vessel,
now, sea within a sea,
someplace the spirits
of the deep find
passageway through a once
air filled hold and
portholes of existence
lining those catacombs
of a saline poetry.
We were at the Assateague Island National Seashore last evening and it was the sound of the sea perhaps or the tiredness of an otherwise lovely day, I thought of sunken ships and also of the dead tree riddled in holes that I took a photo of, at Fort Lee Historic Park. It all came together in a poem that I wish to dedicate to mental health awareness month in the US.
Old memories good and bad are like sea creatures that move through the sunken Titanic of our minds. There is no forgiveness nor forgetting, just a momentary watery disillusionment knowing that the vessel isn’t contained, except in the arms of the sea. It is great to be a ship which sails yet be aware, that the ability to bob above consciousness is available to mere flotsam and jetsam too. Some vessels sail to fish food, others to the destruction of war or the appropriation of conquests, some are simply ambition of harnessing the naturally buoyant, some are ghost ships. There are all kinds up there and down here. Making peace with the darkness of the depths opens ones eyes to the beauty of seeing a buried universe, differently. No one but oneself in the amnion of Gaia, entombed or enwombed, a matter of perspective, I think the illusion lies in floating on murky depths. An eclipse brings about an adjustment of vision to actually see what the light blinded out for a couple of years, melding into the pandemic.
We can’t hope that this world will be anything than it actually is but we can choose to swim or float where we may and hope we never encounter often, that which may be a dangerous lesson.
Given that it is Mental Health Awareness Month in the US, I thought also to share this essay I received at Aeon today. It is about the warped self, on how social media makes us feel terrible about who we really are. It discusses aspects researched in Neuroscience and how the knowledge can be used in an empowering way.
On my playlist:
Meu amor sem Aranjuez by Dulce Pontes. The song seems written for the sea like most Portuguese fados are. Perhaps the sea exists for fados 🙂
There is something about the sea and longing that makes for beautiful poetry. I looked through the usual suspects among the poets that write in English, those that have written about the sea and they all turned out to be male, their poems aggressively exhorting one to the action of war or conquest, or sometimes read like a descent into sadness, upon having not realized their personal ambitions. The women I discovered are the ones that sing to the sea, poems of longing, sadness of loss … There are two among these that are heartrendingly beautiful. Ao longe o mar by Madredeus in Portuguese and Soledad y el mar by Natalia Lafourcade in Spanish. I love the sheer poetry of these lyrics that make you feel as much as you can, the pulse of your vein and the rush of your heart. Today I quote and link both songs below as well as their translations, as a real treat. I am also inspired to attempt to write my own poem of oceans and longing, using the hackneyed Titanic yet again, so forgive me for this cliche.
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Submerged longing
A ship that never sailed / on an ocean under the sun waving through a breezy brightness / like a smile on the waves as they shimmer and glint happiness across the stern / but the hull dashes hopes against an iceberg / submerged like a longing deep within the sea / in the dark of the depths / thinking of what could be / In her algal tresses, a siren watches the albatross trace clouds in the sky / shadows on the bow of a sinking ship wondering why / it never cried out to the sailor to know of the dangers in the undertow / of affections frozen deep in ice waiting to thaw / seeking the sun / seeking sound / seeking to know that which remained hidden in a liquid longing //
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Ao longe o mar by Madredeus
Peaceful harbor of shelter
Porto calmo de abrigo
For a bigger future
De um futuro maior
It’s not lost yet
Ainda não está perdido
In the present fear
No presente temor
It does not make sense
Não faz muito sentido
No longer hope for the best
Já não esperar o melhor
Comes from the mist coming out
Vem da névoa saindo
The previous promise
A promessa anterior
When I saw the sea in the distance
Quando avistei ao longe o mar
There I stood looking
Ali fiquei parado a olhar
Yes, I sing at will
Sim, eu canto a vontade
I sing your awakening
Canto o teu despertar
And embracing homesickness
E abraçando a saudade
I sing the time to pass
Canto o tempo a passar
When I saw the sea in the distance
Quando avistei ao longe o mar
There I stood looking
Ali fiquei parado a olhar
When I saw the sea in the distance
Quando avistei ao longe o mar
I accidentally let myself stay there
Sem querer deixei-me ali ficar
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Pedro Ayres Magalhaes
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Soledad y el mar by Natalia Lafourcade
In the song of the waves
En el canto de las olas
I found a rumor of light
Encontré un rumor de luz
For a song of seagulls
Por un canto de gaviotas
I knew that you were there
Supe que allí estabas tú
Firing lately
Despidiendo últimamente
Everything that happened
Todo lo que sucedió
Today, I greet my present
Hoy, saludo mi presente
And taste this sweet goodbye
Y gusto de este dulce adiós
I will sail in your blue port
Voy a navegar en tu puerto azul
I would like to know where you come from
Quisiera saber de dónde vienes tú
Let’s let time stop
Vamos a dejar que el tiempo pare
See our memories in the seas
Ver nuestros recuerdos en los mares
And this loneliness so deep …
Y esta soledad tan profunda…
That in the song of the waves
Que en el canto de las olas
I would like to submerge
Me quisiera sumergir
Getting drunk on its scent
Embriagándome en su aroma
Something new discover
Algo nuevo descubrir
I will sail in your blue port
Voy a navegar en tu puerto azul
I would like to know where you come from
Quisiera saber de dónde vienes tú
Let’s let time stop
Vamos a dejar que el tiempo pare
See our memories in the seas
Ver nuestros recuerdos en los mares
And this loneliness so deep …
Y esta soledad tan profunda…
Let the sea sing to me
Que me cante el mar
A bolero of loneliness
Un bolero de soledad
Let the sea sing to me
Que me cante el mar
That I walk alone, with loneliness
Que ando sola, con soledad
Let the sea sing to me
Que me cante el mar
A bolero of loneliness
Un bolero de soledad
Let the sea sing to me
Que me cante el mar
That I walk alone, with loneliness
Que ando sola, con soledad
Solitude and the sea
Soledad y el mar
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Maria Natalia Lafourcade Silva / Rodolfo David Aguilar Dorantes
The Erudite Boeotian 