An Ode to the Sea

I stand at the seashore,

as my feet sink in the sand,

being tickled by the lapping water;

I stand in wonderment,

How can one thing be everything and nothing?

I breathe in the salty air,

which announces the sea’s presence from far away;

and I wonder, how can one thing be both, salty and refreshing?

I gaze at the stillness beyond the waves,

and as a I remember the tales of mermaids,

I wonder how one thing can be so still and yet be filled with life?

As the waves play with my feet,

I look across at all the rocks, which have been marked by the sea;

I wonder how one thing can be both endearing and scary?

I stand at the sea shore,

as my feet sink in the sand,

being tickled by the lapping water;

I close my eyes

and feel the wind pass me by,

at once, ferocious and playful;

and feel the sound of the sea

resonate with my being.

Engulfed in the wonderment,

I feel the stillness of time amongst all the motion;

I realize that even time stops

to pay homage to the sea,

The Sea, which is everything and nothing.

~Rishika Sudhir Dhody

An Explorer's Soul

If wishes grew on trees,

I would pluck a leaf every week,

And ride it to a new place,

with old friends;

I would scale the majestic peaks

and when it grew too cold,

I would swing by to the rainforests,

to sleep to the sound of the thrumming raindrops.

I would pray to a God that I haven’t heard of

and absorb a culture different from mine,

but when I yearn for the familiar,

I would pluck a leaf and go back to the cocoon 

from where I was formed.

I would shiver in the cold

and question good, on witnessing evil,

only to make another turn where

warmth is spread through smiles.

If wishes grew on trees,

I would pluck a leaf every week,

And ride it to a new place, 

with old friends;

For I have to smile and weep, 

to lose my way and find it somewhere,

to share a meal, to create memories,

in every place with air to breathe.

~Rishika Sudhir Dhody