• When I was young,
    Just a tiny little thing,
    I lived by the ocean.
    I grew to know it,
    To love it.
    With every part of my being.

    But the Ocean can be cruel.
    She can take and destroy.
    Or she can give.

    So I stood by her
    As she washed upon the shore.
    And thought how beautiful she was that day.
    The clouds were gray and misty.
    The water shined though there was no sunlight.
    And the only sound was the Ocean on the shore.

    Nearby I spotted a dead bird on the shore.
    How cruel the Ocean had been
    To throw the drowned bird up on the sand.
    So cruel, I thought, but still loving.

    So I called out to the Ocean.
    "Send me a gift, my friend,
    That I may know that we understand one another.
    That I will not know fear if I should fall into you."
    Then I sang a soft calming song.

    It was short and brief but...
    It was pleasing to the ear.

    A wave crashed down by the feet
    And dragged away some stones
    To never be seen again
    By loving eyes.
    And the wave return.
    It pushed at my feet
    With rocks and sticks and all matter of things.

    Then once more, it retreated back to the sea.
    And the only thing left at my feet was a single rock.
    Black as can be but blue as the sea.
    I smiled and took the rock,
    A gift from the sea.
    It was round and smooth;
    I loved it dear.

    Now I keep it on a self above my lovely bed,
    So I'll never lose my gift from the sea.