What the Sea told Me

One day I walked down to the beach
To ask the Sea a few
Brief questions of his scope and size
To add to what I knew.

He waved with several foamy hands
And paused to clear his throat
But I, finding his breeze too harsh
Took to a tiny boat.

He boomed with resonating voice
"Have you not seen or heard?
Of all the things I give or take
Without saying a word?

Too long have I been silent;
I have the right to boast
For years and centuries on end
I've ruled the sky and coast

My seven daughters on this globe
My clouds that cloak the sky
All bring to you the rain you need
Without having to try,

Although I'm drained a thousand times
My mouth is bottomless
I'm fed by rivers bringing down
From mountaintops my essence,

One time, (it was so long ago)
I covered e'en the land
And though he said I may not do
So now, I understand

I feel the warmth, so close to Earth
And hear the eyeless lives
Whisper their voiceless secrets of
Where men have not set eyes

What say you, child of standing Earth
This is the way I'll be
The strong, though not the strongest one
The storm, the life, the sea.