Silver Seas

Today’s poem was written while I was out sailing on a stormy day. It had rained off and on and suddenly the sun came out and turned everything the most amazing shade of silver. The clouds, the water, even the sails seemed all to be wrought from that same precious metal. It was one of those moments when you realize how fortunate you are to be alive, right then and there. Prior to that moment, however, we had been experiencing some rather nasty weather and I was struck by the thought that if we had not chosen to brave the storm we would have missed the beauty which followed. Isn’t life just like that? We can remain safe and warm and dry back at home or in the harbor, but the real surprises and the best adventures lie somewhere beyond the breakwater. It certainly is more trouble to take our chances in the unprotected waters of life. Yet, they rarely disappoint us in the long run. Once I leave the safety of the harbor, I’m bound to run across something of interest which promises to make all my efforts worthwhile. Perhaps a perfect sunrise or sunset, or a glorious azure blue day. Sometimes it’s whales or dolphins or a night time ocean set ablaze with bioluminescence. Other times it will be the kind of perfection I experienced after the storm I have here recounted. All these things come to us when we choose to step out into the larger world of experience. Of course, you don’t need an ocean. The desert, the mountains, a forest or river offer similar opportunities ... even the vast ocean of humanity itself is a frontier to be explored and discovered. But we have to get out there. We must cast off the dock lines, raise the sails of our lives and choose to venture out beyond the protected waters of our own little harbor of existence. There’s a big, wide world waiting out there for us to discover. It can seem imposing. It can be scary, and even a little dangerous at times, but it can also be fun and exciting and enlightening and amazing and rewarding. The only way to be sure, however, is to go out and see for ourselves. Here’s hoping that you may set sail in your own special way and discover the silver seas for yourself. Bon Voyage.

Silver Seas
I’ve heard that each cloud holds a silver lining
Which has descended now upon a silver sea
To light the day for which I have been pining
I find myself enveloped in its majesty
Intermittent rain refreshes as we travel
As Autumn showers at sea are prone to do
And I watch the stormy morning’s clouds unravel
In good company, upon a course that’s true
Such beauty is reserved for those who wander
Across the windswept swells and far from home
On stormy days folks safe ashore would squander
Who may be wary of the seas and never roam
I have known both danger and perfection
Where oft the twain together may be found
Weighing each in all my years of recollection
I choose to sail where both shall e’er abound
Smooth sailing is each mariner’s dream for reasons
Which are plain enough to you as well as me
Yet, I long to know the ocean through all seasons
For such moments as this, upon the silver sea
By Frank Carpenter ©