by Rasma Haidri

Ocean Satori

I sing a song you do not quite hear
in a language you do not yet understand.

It is the song of ocean.
Hear – we have been singing to you
from the beginning
from the first word
from the first tone
stirring on the tongue of God.

Go under and wonder
at the multitude of wonders you are.
You will find a new way of breathing.
A new way to open your eyes.

In the ocean all things turn
and there is no up down.

There is breathing at birth and at death,
and to the one being born
it appears the world will end.

Where will you throw these bones?
There is no such place as “away” for them to go.
The body can dissolve in ocean
and rise again in another form.

There is no starting point or end
when you live along the circle of God.

All water is this water.
The ocean is within you now,
woven into your hair and tingling on your skin.
Open your mouth and unloose your own singing.
This is the hum of your own song.
This is your welcoming drown.

Here is where I come to you–
where I call and you come.
Here there is no alone
no waiting
no questions
no words
no thought
no end to our embrace
no beginning–
The ocean is one.


from Only the Sea Keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami, Bayeux Arts, 2005