Restless waves

As sun peeks over brilliant horizon

restless waves

scatter lifeless shells on silver shore.

Creatures great and small wander ocean depths

but where shallow meets sand,

broken, worn remnants lie unfettered by the sea.

Tossed and tousled

each tells a tale of once vibrant life.

We walk among them

eagerly examining each,

hoping for perfect prizes.

Hours upon hours

old men shuffle

young men pace

children dance,

each roaming the water’s edge for treasured trinkets.

Reaching into the waves

digging into the sand,

they focus…

lifting, tossing, saving, leaving,

selecting only the perfect.

One perceives beauty where

others see worn, hollow.

They are like us…

lacking vibrancy, valor, vivacity.

Tossed and torn by leery lessons,

we settle on dry land, having lost our dreams

in life’s insatiable sea.

Unable to discern or distinguish,

we seek joy in secret places where it cannot,

must not

be found.

Rather than seeking the Giver,

we grope and grasp to gather ourselves,

broken, worn, tossed…

far from envisioned ideal.

Only when selflessness enters

do we understand.

Ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and the door will be opened.

© Donna Arthur Downs