Crescendoing

We are discussing layers in writing poetry today over at dversepoets.com - scratch the surface and there is more there -




When I was young and put my toe
in the sea, I felt
bantam waves warm and foamy,
like an extension of me
I had no words to describe it then
Each time I returned,
I had matured,
so I waded further,
feeling the undertow

I felt a thrill when I jumped higher
waves above my knees and then,
as they bumped against
my chest
Words like "cold, pulling, fear,
port and harbor, navigation
and bandoleer" came to me
My strong legs could withstand
the cantankerous tide's ebb and flow

I learned to catch a wave to ride
all the way in,
the moment to swim before the
swell broke into a
 long white ruffle
Now I could articulate what the sea
incited in me, its beauty, its draw,
its rushing to spread itself thinly
upon the outstretched sandy beach

The further out one adventures on
this graduating terrace,
the greater the cross currents each way
My ability to surf larger waves
let me see other horizons
The rolling sea of life,
its calm and its tempests,
waves that never cease

The sea awakened me
to a mystery - deeper and more
complex now is the study
Thus I write stories and poetry,
essays on nuances of what I see,
feel, touch and hear -
I sketch and paint the dangers
and joys of life,
its idiosyncrasies -
my observations of this living,
undulate, breathing
Delphic sphere