Thus She Replied Poem by Ajit Kanale

From the beach I spoke,
“O Great Sea, Earth’s old cloak,
Is there a thing for which you’ve pined? ”
Thus she replied, “For many a year,
Imprisoned by this great sphere,
True freedom, I’m yet to find! ”

“You are the finest fluid around,
By no obstacle are you really bound,
Whole continents you bridge with ease! ”
“But like the tigers in your zoo,
In this Earthly box, I’m trapped too,
Only adjusting between continental verdigris! ”

“But, mighty Sea, me you faze!
Don’t you spawn vapours off the Sun’s blaze
And fly unheld, into the Blue Beyond? ”
“Oh my attempts feeble”, cried she,
“Foiled by the wind, they’ll always be!
This cage of mine, I cannot abscond! ”

“How is it possible”, I mused
“For one so puissant, yet so diffused,
To have everything, and yet be forlorn? ”
“Ah! ” she quipped, “O maker of mirrors!
You, who learns from from his errors,
Your own image it is that I’ve worn!

Only the blind see not a gem,
Yet good hearts can’t be hid from them,
For they dwell on their gifts, not wants!
Likewise, dear friend, recognise,
The ocean, within you, which lies,
Over repeated, introspective jaunts!

For the universe you see
In my immensity, is like that sea
A mere glimpse of which, in your eyes,
Thrills me thus, I fear to think
If in its entirety, I would worthlessly sink!
O Little One, your own power you don’t realise! ”

I stood back, astounded,
For the ocean, bordered yet unbounded
Has treasures beyond all that Man has known!
And if in me, itself it can see,
Blind I have been, as only a rock can be!
“O Ocean, forgive me, for the fault is my own!

Woken me, you have now.
To waste this wealth, myself, I’ll never allow,
For this World can be a better place.
And thus will I strive,
And will everyday thrive, not just survive,
So this Life, much wasted, may have a little grace!