The Shore That Remembers My Name

I think of the ocean daily.
Even far inland, I hear it.
A hush that is not silence,
a strength that is not noise.

There is an Atlantic edge that is home.
Sand keeps the ledger of my steps.
Salt keeps the covenant of my breath.
Light writes the shoreline new each morning.

I can close my eyes and return.
Wind steadies my chest.
Waves count time without a clock.
My feet find their place in the sand
and remember what it means to stand.

Ancient hearts knew this lesson.
They watched the sea answer the moon.
They spoke of boundaries set for waters,
of seasons under heaven,
of mercy renewed like tide.

Here the horizon is honest.
Problems shrink to pebble size.
Anxieties slip back with the foam.
The mind loosens its knots.
The body hears its truer pace.

It is not a jolt of energy.
It is a candle that never gutters.
The ocean gives a long flame,
enough to work by,
enough to bless the evening.

It is not a sleep without wakefulness.
It is rest that keeps the eyes bright.
I feel both ready and calm.
Like sails filled, yet harbor safe.
Strength held in gentleness.

When I am away too long
I keep shore in my pocket.
A shell of memory,
a psalm of salt and blue,
small but sufficient for the day.

Then I arrive and see it again.
Relief moves through me like light through water.
I breathe as if for the first time.
Every good feeling rises to the surface,
and the cup of the heart runs over.

Teach me to live as the tide lives.
To go out faithful, to come back faithful.
To keep my course by a quiet moon.
To smooth what is jagged,
to polish what is dull.

Here I am made new without effort.
Here I remember who holds the deep.
Here I learn the courage of small things,
grain by grain, wave by wave,
until even my fears grow still.

And so I bless this shore.
I bless the long line of light.
I bless the wind that knows my name.
Let every step be answered by water.
Let every morning open like the sea.

If there is goodness to gather,
let me gather it here.
If there is peace to carry,
let me carry it home.
And may my days, like the tides,
return with more than they took.