Ocean

---

The oldest shell I've ever seen

Lay tossed by waves, and in between

Abrasive sand and pounding stones

Which wore away its ridge-like bones

Creatures on the sandy shoals

Had drilled in it a hundred holes

Water from the sea had stained

What little of the shell remained

It had a beauty all its own

Unlike the seashells that are shown

On shelves at stores for folks to buy

I'm glad this old one caught my eye!

I found the smallest shell, by far

At low tide, on a sandy bar

Stranded on a bit of land

Lost within a sea of sand

Tiny, detailed sculpture, which

Lay within a grainy niche

Swept there from the ocean's floor

A pearl lying on the shore

Entrapped, by my adoring eye,

I simply could not pass it by,

Then scooped it up from off the ground,

And loved the treasure I had found!

Islands, an archipelago 

Of clouds on the ocean, spread out below

My window, while flying to Mexico

A beautiful archipelago

Stars, and planets, and milky-white moon

Spread cross the sea, one day in June

Out my window, while flying to sunny Cancun

Stars, and a sleepy, milky-white moon

Sheep, as white as they can be

Grazing on bluegrass fields that I see

Out the plane's window, wandering free

Sheep, as soft as they can be

Sandy fish with sandy scale, sandy eye, and sandy tail

Sandy face with sandy hair, sandy trees in sandy air

Sandy eddies, sandy swirls, sandy twists, and sandy curls

Rainbow bubbles on the sand, artwork made by nature's hand

I saw a tree upon the beach

Too big to get ones arms around

Branches much too high to reach

Roots sunk deeply in the ground

Grey, just like the beach's sand

No leaves, at this late date in fall

But even so, the tree looked grand

Buttressed, muscled, strong and tall

Alas, it perished in the tide

Later, nowhere to be seen

Though I searched both far and wide

Waves wiped the sandy chalkboard clean!