The Ocean Blog
Your Ode to the Big Blue
April is National Poetry Month here in the United States. We'd like you to help us celebrate by penning a poem in the comment field below or on our Facebook page.
Not the next Walt Whitman? Fear not.
The only rule is that you must invoke our favorite muse: the ocean. Whether you praise saltwater waves, ponder Arctic jelly fish, or pretend to be the baleen in a whale's mouth, WE WANT YOUR POEMS.
Please take a few seconds, minutes, or hours and submit your odes to the big blue. We'll post some of our favorites (good and bad) on our blog at the end of the month.
Want a bit more structure? Try a Haiku -- a perfect form for Facebook or Twitter. That's 17 syllables, in three lines or less. Typically the syllables are split up 5, 7, and 5.
Need some inspiration? Peruse the multi-media section of the Ocean Portal for photos and video.
To kick things off…here is one of our very own (and very bad) poems:
On a seaside cliff
Magnified whales still a speck
Wish I were a fish
If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area, celebrate your love for the ocean by joining us at a free ocean haiku writing workshop at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History from 1-3 pm, on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
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this is our ocean so lets
this is our ocean
so lets take care of it
with all the turtles, whales and polar bears
these are our seas.
with all the plants and animals
that die every day
this is are ocean
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 2:21pm.so we have to take care of it
these are our seas
what the sea taught me,I
what the sea taught me,I keep.
maybe the albatross teaches me to sail though live.
starfish in the tide teach me stillness.
a bird in the air teaches me to soar.
birds fly over as
fish swim in the water
shells scatter the sea floor
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 2:11pm.what the sea taught me, I keep
The sea teaches me it teaches
The sea teaches me
it teaches me the power, the waves are the forces
the clear water the wonders below
the blue ocean's surface that scrapes the air
further out to sea I go waves crash ,
I get swept in and it throws me on shore
the sea is so
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 2:10pm.vast it's beautiful
The big blue Sea has value to
The big blue Sea has value to me,
The waves have a beautiful sound that travels among shore.
Somehow you can connect with the animals in many different ways.
The whales can speak an ancient language that no one can understand.
The colorful sea shells wash to the tide without a sound made.
I need the sea.
Finn, Age 10
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 1:57pm.THE CHILLING SEA: I sit by
THE CHILLING SEA:
I sit by the cool sea,
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 1:49pm.As the chilling air whirls around me.
I get swept magically to the ocean,A force in me pulls me to that shimmering sea.
As I plunge into the ocean,I see the brilliant colors of sea life.
I play with a turtle,
Zoom with a sea otter,
I relax with a starfish,
And I float with my friend the leafy sea dragon.
As I come up to shore, I realize that I TRULY belong to the ocean,
For it is my home.
-Julia
The dark blue
The dark blue sea,
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 1:49pm.squandering snow with it's foam,
on the warm sand, the seals doze like soft clouds,
down in the ocean fish hiding in the kelp mazes,
swoop! comes the sea otter,
and nibbles on a tail,
on the land are
berries and leaves to eat,
though it maybe hard to imagine all these things
when so far away those tropical waters
the animals under the water
living their lives,
it is right before you-do you smell the salty air?
I dive into my imagination I
I dive into my imagination
I unite with the polar bears
We become one
I dive into the ocean
I am greeted by a small family of squid
We become one
I walk along the wet sandy beach
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 1:47pm.I soak in the harmony of all life
We become one
A Wave I sat on the beach and
A Wave
I sat on the beach and a beautiful wave
Came tumbling right up to me.
It threw some pink shells on the sand at my feet,
Then hurried straight back out to sea.
It ran away swiftly and leaped up in foam;
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/02/2011 - 10:23pm.It bumped other waves in its glee.
I think it was hurrying to gather more shells,
To bring as a present for me.
To the Seven Your blue's so
To the Seven
Your blue's so true
And green I've seen
That dance in summer's light
And under the stars
The night is ours
To the moon, my dreams take flight
For the sway of your wave
And to be carried away
I long for maritime divine
Through heart and mind
Jump!
The water's fine
The love of waters deep.
-- Mia Kayla
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/29/2011 - 9:42am.Meaghan Elliott - "Ode to Sea
Meaghan Elliott - "Ode to Sea Turtles"
almost as if you fly
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 4:57pm.underwater
with those wings
you call flippers
like some giant UFO
flapping and weaving
through the blue
you ancient mariner
who never vanishes
however old you are
you were born
wiser than us all
Through the Holes Through
Through the Holes
Through the holes in my straw hat
I see tiny flecks of light
Laying on the sandy beach,
The sun shines warm and bright.
And out in the distance
The waves crash on the shore,
A pelican dives to catch a fish
And then comes back for more.
Sipping rum from the bottle,
Watching turquoise waves roll by,
I look up toward the sun
To see a blue and cloudless sky.
On a tropical beach in St. Martin
Who could imagine that,
All this paradise is just behind…
The holes in my straw hat.
By: Melodye Denisov
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 1:54pm.The Merry Game of
The Merry Game of Floundering
Passing blue dump-truck grouper
on his way to the job,
while above, in old arching currents
fast jacks streak by—not to be merged with.
Not on a summer’s day
when shadows dapple the sands,
spotlighting here a checkered crab, there a
red-roofed coral inviting a safe defecation
and a nibble, idling in her shade.
Then pulling out slowly, finning the bottom flow
like a palm lazily held out a window just for buffeting;
oh, the lovely draft! Now pulling, now pushing
ever-so-gently here below
where sand abounds for parking
and camouflage is cheap.
It is a sin to weep salt tears
over skewed eyes that see strange,
yet well enough
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 2:21pm.to tell a shark from a puffer
and a fish-hook from a walking worm.
146/365: i dream of manta
146/365: i dream of manta rays
i dream of manta rays
in an ocean alone
surrounded only by blue
the bubbles of her scuba tank
the most subtle of signals
yet still a beacon that calls to rays
to come from distant ends
of this infinite abyss
the manta rays
as wide as two car lengths
soar into place
and hover just above her head
she does not see the manta
she does not feel the manta
only by way of signal from her
fellow diver does she look above
inches away
the manta hovers, silent, motionless,
3,000 pounds of mystery
Posted by Theresa Duncan
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 12:47pm.http://onehundredforks.blogspot.com/
I close my eyes and lean
I close my eyes and lean back,
my face to the sun.
I let go,
sliding back into the cool quiet depths
away from hopelessness and despair.
I let go of life, drifting back and down
through the turquoise water
to peace.
to truly become no one
in the waters of the tropical ocean.
I will swim with dolphins,
and sing with whales,
and walk on the moonlit beach
with the mother turtle laying her eggs.
lose myself in the tides,
and become part of the eternal circle
that is life.
can you catch me
as i give myself to death?
your arms warm and safe
against the cool water.
can you give me a reason to live,
to keep hoping and trying?
or will I slip through your grasp
to disappear
forever.
betsy langley
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 11:55pm.Numinous Numinous Where land
Numinous
Numinous
Where land and ocean greet
a living Mandala
a magic carpet
a sacred mosaic
Sands sprout small legs and sideways dance
shells intricately-wrought delicately glide by
fallen stars festoon water’s windswept gown
pebbles glisten, or glitter as precious stones
on a sublime neckline
Ocean surface a liquid sky
a great glass ceiling
to a fluid wonder world
world-within-world
Now, through a looking glass, gaze deeply
onto a strangely illumined, meditative existence
(where sound is swallowed whole)
a silent motion picture featuring
otherworldly cast of characters
of Infinite variety and beauty
Dramatic dreamscapes and fantastic gardens
living coral atop skeletons of past generations
palimpsest upon which ocean story is inscribed
coral bones to body of water
Communal castles of Life and Death
these reefs turn none away
home to a profusion of color-forms
exercises in poetic precision
or deliberate imagination.
- Yahia Lababidi, DC
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/21/2011 - 1:36pm.I'm an Arab-American poet and the author of 2 critically-acclaimed books: Signposts to Elsewhere and Trial by Ink www.pw.org/content/yahia_lababidi
love is divine, love is
love is divine, love is blind,love is sublime
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 3:15pm.love is here love is there, love is everywhere
find love to love everyone, and make this world
full of love.
What is the sea that
What is the sea
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 2:53am.that surrounds you and me?
Unreachable depths
where no one can be.
Deep calls unto deep
God's mystery....ET
Sun shining on my
Sun shining on my face
stretched out on the sandy shore
I think of life, its meaning
and death.
I'll not think anymore.
I wrote this in 9th grade English.
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 2:24pm.My teacher accused me of copying it out of a book.
Big Ocean Blue your bueaty is
Big Ocean Blue
your bueaty is surreal,
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:53pm.your size is unreal.
You harbor many harbors,
you feel many seals.
You leave us gasping for more.
you give but not receive,
you live but not breathe,
you think but not believe,
you know but cannot see,
you are truthful but can deceive.
You are the masterpiece of our world,
you are the king of kings,
you are the best of the best,
the first in line the first to fight.
You and I mean you can stop hurting big ocean blue.
The ocean's their home We
The ocean's their home
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:48pm.We rely on it also
Yet we destroy it
Blue, glistening and free
Blue, glistening and free this is what i see.
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:47pm.Happy and fuzzy with delight this is what i feel.
but what many don't know about this beautiful home for fish, is that its crawling with life hopeful, dear and true. the garbage we put in may never come out,the plastic the paper and carbon its true. when you look at a fish the colors seem happy, but if you knew that fish you'd be sorry too. it can hardly breathe with the chemicals inside. please help our fish because when you do they're sure to thank you.
It's magical really the way
It's magical really
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:46pm.the way life exists
in an endless sea
Radiant colors:
green, pink, orange, and more
glow beneath the surface
Water so clear
you can see everything
Colorful fish swim
Coral keep it clean
Crustaceans wander
It's all beautiful
Everything is one
It's kind of like... magic
Ocean Colors
Ocean Colors
There are many colors in the sea
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:45pm.here are just a few to see
lavender,pea***,raspberry,
emerald green,and purple
there are many other but,
now there is one deadly color
it's oil,oil,oil. is near
All the fish are dying,there
all the sharks are sinking
and the birds they are not a flying.
Oil I swim in the ocean
Oil
I swim in the ocean killing all in my path. They try to get rid of me but I keep coming back. I hide in cracks of the ocean floor. I take lives like many before. I swim in a shadow of fine misty black. I am not a dream nor am I life. I am death, a fine misty black.
-Elijah Marriott
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:41pm.Ocean HARK! A new wave A new
Ocean
HARK!
A new wave
A new ponder awakes me
I love thee ocean
I am weightless
I have a new life
I am an ocean
I am me
Rainbow coral brushes
my face
Dolphins kiss
my cheek
Colorful fish sing
La La to
my ears
Mermaids twirl about
me and the ocean
I am one in the ocean
and
the ocean is one in me
By. Gabrielle
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:38pm.Ocean blues The Ocean you may
Ocean blues
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:35pm.The Ocean you may say is just water
Well it has feelings
Just like you
When its mad it will flood us
And it might even drown us
When its happy it will have perfect waves for surfers and swimmers
When its sad it will either rain or the waves will get choppy
Always remember to make it happy
And never pollute it
Ocean Blue, Salty
Ocean
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:34pm.Blue, Salty
Rolling, Turning, Flowing
Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian
Living, Moving, Swimming
Colorful, Breathtaking
Sea Life
What Rachel Saw Take me to
What Rachel Saw
Take me to see what Rachel saw,
Cresting waves,
Dark indigo blue.
Take me to smell what Rachel smelled,
Salty wind,
Over decay of fish.
Take me to hear what Rachel heard,
Crashing waves,
Crying gulls.
Take me to feel what Rachel felt,
Knobbly starfish,
Silky sand.
Yet, do I really need to see,
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 12:34pm.To fix bleached coral,
All because of me,
So far away.
Stuns me ev'ry time: View of
Stuns me ev'ry time:
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:19pm.View of ever changing sea--
Pray life within lasts.
Your multi shades of light,
Your multi shades of light, dark blue and turquoise hues
Take my breath away.
Oh, the stories you can tell if we only listen.
The lovers that have felt your clam embrace
As they lay beneath your cover.
Hearts beating faster
The sun's rays glisten across
Your light, dark blue and turquoise hues.
KJ Smith
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 11:55am.Oceans clean and blue Home
Oceans clean and blue
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/15/2011 - 1:23am.Home for fishes and coral,
Don't pollute their home.
through an ocean door foam
through an ocean door
foam combers recede and leave
a line in the sand
(familiar form)
low tide...
the beach is left
with seaweed
(modern form)
- Peach http://HaikuToday.net
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 8:47pm.I love the use of the two
I love the use of the two forms and how they relate to one another!
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 9:42pm.Charleston’s Salt
Charleston’s Salt Flats
Periwinkle dusk cradled in meringue-d moon - Beams with tinged sun-drops each echoing its own
Crooning –love for day’s sweet end, far-flung skinny oaks ...And ocher-ed waves of spindly marshes dance in the
Salty drink, architectural perspectives paint The gentleness of each sentry’s uniform
Tenderly embracing reflection-ed wetness Slowly emptying the tendril-ed ribbon-ed
Salty streams outward into the great Atlantic Wilds, divided sepias outline the punctuat-
Ing dance with kisses of our entwined enchantment Charleston salt flats welcoming lovers’ hungry souls
Debora Short, May 17, 2008
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/11/2011 - 9:41am.From plankton supplying the
From plankton supplying the world's oxygen, to loggerheads eating oil - mistakes of men, the ocean provides us with everything, about her I must with praises sing.
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 6:46pm.From Sean-Ann
Ocean so brave Yet so
Ocean so brave
Yet so kind
Flows just like the thougths
In my mind
Waves crash onto
The seashore
I'll lay and watch
And just ask for more
I hear the siren
Call of the sea
Saying so gently
"Come play with me"
I say "Nay could but must not
For I must not hurt you
not the slightest drop"
But as roses are red
and you, my ocean, are blue
I will always
always love you
- Meh
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 1:39am.An ocean breeze swirls
An ocean breeze swirls cheerfully around me;
Engufling my soul to the depths of the sea.
The gentle waves lap upon the shore;
Enticing my senses for memories evermore.
I see a shell tumble close to my sandy feet;
I take it in my hand and hold it close so that I can see.
It's the most beautiful shell I have ever seen;
Its a delicate pink and shades of bluegreen.
I imagine this shell to be a rare beauty indeed;
A beauty to be cherished and given in time of need.
For the beauty of a shell can turn gray days to sun;
And make my spirit soar until I can no longer run.
I collapse on the soft sand and stare longingly into the sky;
Seagulls fly gracefully as puffy white clouds go by.
I look down to find my shell taken by the sea;
But I smile and remember it brought me such glee.
I wonder tomorrow who will be blessed to find;
The shell that is a beauty and one of a kind.
I know it will bring joy and make their heart sing;
Because now I know what rare beauty brings.
ZMH FLa
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/09/2011 - 8:04am.the waters wash over me the
the waters wash over me
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/09/2011 - 4:33am.the cool cleanses my soul
the waters refresh my being
i am reborn
Sunlit waters, sparkle like
Sunlit waters, sparkle like diamonds
Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 04/09/2011 - 12:25am.Beneath deepest blue, valleys and mountains.
Heavy, vast water so needed for life
Tales of serenity, wonder and strife.
Myriad sea life to boggle the mind
Beauty and mystery all this you will find
In the ocean, that vast spans of blue.
Ponder, rejoice and then ponder anew.
Jagged rocks, crashing
Jagged rocks, crashing waves,
Whipping wind, harsh storms
How can anything survive in such turbulence?
But beneath the waves
Lives a world, thriving
In the ever-changing tide
A world of color
Of movement
Of sound.
Nothing is left untouched by fate
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 9:16pm.But whether or not we endure
Is up to us.
Ocean so brave Yet so
Ocean so brave
Yet so kind
Flows just like the thougths
In my mind
Waves crash onto
The seashore
I'll lay and watch
And just ask for more
I hear the siren
Call of the sea
Saying so gently
"Come play with me"
I say "Nay could but must not
For I must not hurt you
not the slightest drop"
But as roses are red
and you, my ocean, are blue
I will always
always love you
-Alyssa
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 5:55pm.I am a diver not a poet but
I am a diver not a poet but here goes:
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 4:50pm.Hot, sweaty, I smell the neoprene.
Flex my fingers in my gloves a glance out, I see blue and green.
Begining With Review And a Friend, I ask my buddy a second time, please check my air again!
Aprehension at things forgotten, has it been so long?
Not so say I, still hoping I'm not wrong.
Ankles cool, shins a splashing!
I shuffle forward, fins in hand, the waves tumbling and crashing.
Fins are on! Toes wiggle! Mask hugging my face,
I drop in silence, breathing slowly, feeling Mother Ocean's loving embrace.
Creatures come and go watching, avoid this clumsy child from above,
I kick and glide gentle movements water swirling, floating freely...
once again, I am in love.
I love this! I just got my
I love this! I just got my open water certification... Thanks!
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/25/2011 - 11:43am.....Blending One
....Blending
One ocean
oscillates
with a billion shores
splashed
in zillions of ways...
I walk firmly on one
wet beach
following tide lines
salt air in my curling hair
evaporating
- poem by Anne Selden Annab
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 7:34am.Roses are red Oceans are
Roses are red
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 2:29am.Oceans are blue
Oh how I love
to sail with you.
An Ocean; A potion The
An Ocean; A potion
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 9:10pm.The briney blue deep
Aboard a vast ship
Rocked you to sleep
A fisher; star-wisher
A sailor doth mark her
Ahoy there, fair mermaid,
Safe from Davy's locker
Sirens call hither from
The dangerous rocks
Waters of indigo
Obscure crashing docks
Hungry predators A tangle of
Hungry predators
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 7:39pm.A tangle of fins and tails
Someone misses lunch
she sells seashells down by
she sells seashells down by the seashore, no more
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 5:28pm.beads of tar, riddled with scars, remnants of our passing
waves wash across a barren seascape
siphons pulled in, seashells long gone
or not? It might be up to you.
The ocean roars, big and
The ocean roars,
big and blue,
the seahorse swins,
the sharks attack,
fish swimming,
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 3:52pm.people floating,
having fun jumping the waves,
living...
in the ocean
Long after Mankind had
Long after Mankind
had destroyed all life on land
and much in the seas
with war, pollution, disease
what He didn't know survived
dwelling in the deep
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 3:02pm.undo***ented waters
thriving, surviving
on that which sank the deepest
in the oceans of this Earth