Ode to Ocean

Ode to Ocean
Laijon Liu 2010.03.21

O1
With what I must measure you, Mother?
Your infinite depth and weight
When Yahweh hovering above you,
Did He bless you with his years?
Your sacred sovereign blue mass
Contains all the past and future
And the living and dead on earth
Must embrace you as their home.

O2
Vast, your limit stretches into sky
And deep, there are worlds beneath
Continents are sketched out by your hands
Peaks and rivers, you support and collect
Sun gives you warmth and golden glare
And moon draws your mood and tide
Rain and clouds you create and spread
All life on earth are waiting for your bless.

O3
Yet, silence and roars both your voice
Peace and chaos your unpredicted ways
In your realms of shallow and deep
We always taste bitterness and salt
And heroes drift across your worlds
To obtain battles and fall in your toil
All lovers of voyagers on your beach
They kneel down and pray in tears.

O4
Ah, time travels beyond your space
A weary journey that seems eternal
But our prime always too short to last
How we strive for victory and home
Fate, gods’ orders and men’s faith
Chance, gambling luck and wily works
But how can we endure your stillness
Like an old man sitting on the sunset shore.

O5
Yes, the orange sun does rise every dawn
Like he always keeps his promise to you
And by watching this we firmly believe
That you will eventually carry us home
So we held up our staff and called out to heaven
Like we’d already mastered your smashing wave
Then people followed, the book written
To pass down this miracle of unseen.

O6
But could we ever order you to calm down?
Or set our feet of peace to walk upon you?
How much faith we need to divide your depth?
Even Paul got across your void by boat.
And we, only hold steering wheel to adjust
Hope for a good weather or to survive the storm
When a seagull or an isle suddenly appeared
We jump up for joy, and then fear what’s to come.

O7
In you every person searches alone
Since our birth we learn how to swim
One man stretched out his hand toward another
And one girl holding a boy’s hand, waiting for a kiss
Then they embraced; looked into each other’s eyes
Exchanging vows in front of crowd
And walked off the red banquet carpet
To set off for another voyage and to be together at last

O8
And what is waiting for them is the same
As all of us waited since our existence
You, my love; and you, our home.
In you always journey and we start anew
On the board we lie down and look up
The universe is filled with infinite stars
And you rock us like your infant child
Till we sleep, into a world of unknown.