I received a note
Scribed on white cellulose
Carried by the wind
Through my swirls, damp, cold
The sea empress
And I send it back
Before you were here
Sadness arrived, calling me
I came, I come, here
The generation past
The young still run wild
You appear dislocated
Thoughts, clinical cold
Disturbing account hangs heavy
Announcing the death
Are these words I see
How can I know what is real,
Has meaning to pass on
For now, I believe
I will listen to questions
And offer solace
For all the souls who
Have lost and are lost
Take sanctuary in me.
I give you the beach
I give you the air to breath
I give you salt water
I see you dancing
I am here beside you always
In the dark and light
I am not aged
I am both young and old
Ephemeral, yet illusion
He may be gone, but
They linger still in your heart
Ever present, ever close
Ever present I hear you
Desperate to shout at yourself
You move like a rock
The noise above the waves
A horn like giant void
Shares madness in ritual
What language is this
One dimensional with time
Linear and shallow
I hear the loud cries
Like birds rising above air
The birds see and tell
You bow your head down
A requiem for the lost
Lost in the moment
You dive and swirl wildly
Making sand patterns on the beach floor
Chaotic, seeking sanctuary
The dull ache of loss
Ebbs and flows like time passing
A cycle to move through
From the pain within
Searching for meaning, understanding
I connect to you
Envelop the space
Between the here and the there
You and me, here, now
The they and the me
Between the life and after
Unfathomable
You throw all at me
Into the sand, making noise
Wise one listen to the call
Ancestors are here
Return to spirit, soul free
Be one with it all
With the universe
They are here and they are there
Fog, sea, ice, wind, sun
I see your real soul
A mirage they are not, feel
Let it go, be free
The unreal and real
I am all encompassing
Mother controls all
No escape from death
Drawn here to lament and feel
Loss never makes sense
No direction now,
You will find your direction,
let go find new way
Reality holds
Creating bridges across
Isles joined with air
Sea connects to fog
Ethereal nature ever strong
Take a leap of faith
I did not go anywhere
Take sanctuary within
You will find me always
Surrender to my mist
Clean yourself in my vapour
Find meaning in salt
It tells the story listen
It reaches your heart and smiles
we will be safe here
Trust it, feel it, love
Banish fear, embrace breath, hope
Breathe in the now
I wrap around you
It is found, in this moment
Be calm, let go, still
Be free, you are safe
Feel the elemental spark
It will lead you home
Scribed on white cellulose
Carried by the wind
Through my swirls, damp, cold
The sea empress
And I send it back
Before you were here
Sadness arrived, calling me
I came, I come, here
The generation past
The young still run wild
You appear dislocated
Thoughts, clinical cold
Disturbing account hangs heavy
Announcing the death
Are these words I see
How can I know what is real,
Has meaning to pass on
For now, I believe
I will listen to questions
And offer solace
For all the souls who
Have lost and are lost
Take sanctuary in me.
I give you the beach
I give you the air to breath
I give you salt water
I see you dancing
I am here beside you always
In the dark and light
I am not aged
I am both young and old
Ephemeral, yet illusion
He may be gone, but
They linger still in your heart
Ever present, ever close
Ever present I hear you
Desperate to shout at yourself
You move like a rock
The noise above the waves
A horn like giant void
Shares madness in ritual
What language is this
One dimensional with time
Linear and shallow
I hear the loud cries
Like birds rising above air
The birds see and tell
You bow your head down
A requiem for the lost
Lost in the moment
You dive and swirl wildly
Making sand patterns on the beach floor
Chaotic, seeking sanctuary
The dull ache of loss
Ebbs and flows like time passing
A cycle to move through
From the pain within
Searching for meaning, understanding
I connect to you
Envelop the space
Between the here and the there
You and me, here, now
The they and the me
Between the life and after
Unfathomable
You throw all at me
Into the sand, making noise
Wise one listen to the call
Ancestors are here
Return to spirit, soul free
Be one with it all
With the universe
They are here and they are there
Fog, sea, ice, wind, sun
I see your real soul
A mirage they are not, feel
Let it go, be free
The unreal and real
I am all encompassing
Mother controls all
No escape from death
Drawn here to lament and feel
Loss never makes sense
No direction now,
You will find your direction,
let go find new way
Reality holds
Creating bridges across
Isles joined with air
Sea connects to fog
Ethereal nature ever strong
Take a leap of faith
I did not go anywhere
Take sanctuary within
You will find me always
Surrender to my mist
Clean yourself in my vapour
Find meaning in salt
It tells the story listen
It reaches your heart and smiles
we will be safe here
Trust it, feel it, love
Banish fear, embrace breath, hope
Breathe in the now
I wrap around you
It is found, in this moment
Be calm, let go, still
Be free, you are safe
Feel the elemental spark
It will lead you home
Translation by Sea Empress for the Sea Fog (2021)
海の霧から : Umi no kiri kara : From the Sea Fog, Joanna Hartle (2021) (lino cut, words, loss)