The Oldie "To See the Sea" comp by 22nd July
 

I can relate to this. I was 9 years old when I first saw the sea. A deprived childhood? Well, partly, but the best thing about it is that I can still remember the thrill of the experience; not many people can say that.

Jayne

The Oldie Competition
by Tessa Castro

Competition No 205
At the age of 34, King George III, they say, had never seen the sea. A poem, from whatever perspective, please, called ‘To See the Sea’. Maximum sixteen lines.

Entries, by post (The Oldie, 23/31 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PA) or e-mail comps@theoldie.co.uk – don’t forget to include your postal address), to ‘Competition No 205’ by 22nd July 2016.

To See the Sea

To see the sea takes eyes, you see,
but see what you will see:
the billowing foam,
the killer whale's home,
the toilet where tuna fish pee,

and so I advise, just look with your eyes
but never go swim in the sea,
for the fish never quit
turning plankton to shit
and the porpoises vomit with glee.

Haha. That was quick, Bob, or was it one you already had?

I like swimming in the sea . . . well, I used to . . . I'm not so sure now!

Jayne

Thanks, Jayne. No, it's brand new, written in the minutes before posting. I love swimming in the ocean, though I usually find it too cold.

TO SEE THE SEA

You ask me how to see the sea?
Go the shore, and there it will be,

a floor beneath the dome of sky,
the Earth's reproach to all that's dry,

as huge as things on Earth can get,
and every millimeter wet,

then take a seat upon the sand
and banish every thought of land

and let the ocean fill your view
till nothing but the sea is true.

To See the Seven Seas?

Sea is where fishes, not men's wishes dwell;
'A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD' sees men to hell.

h

TO SEE THE SEA

I was born in a land-locked country,
far from a glimpse of the sea.
From reading I knew that the ocean was blue
and as big as a big thing could be,

and I knew it was home to great creatures,
like starfish and dolphins and whales,
and poets adored it, and heros explored it
propelled by the wind in their sails,

and I dreamed that someday I would see it,
I'd stand on the shore and behold,
but the years went by fast, and my chances all passed,
and my dream, like my bones, is too old.

Sea Legs to See the Sea With


If I give all my love to one or the other
why should you care who it is my mother?

I take my leave in the morn for the coast
to whale on a ship in the harbor named Ghost.

In the spray of the sea at the top of the mast,
I spot him basking in the waves at last.

We tack to the north where the cold is hard
and chase the white (from the nest) I guard,

where he spouts water mixed with icy spume
as high as the mizzen; we watch it bloom.

Our boats come to bear on the humping whale.
Harpoons are cast at his sides but they fail.

And still I give all my love to the sea
and the girls in the harbor of Ghost, at Lee.