What I had come to the ocean to learn
is not what the ocean chose to teach.
I stood on the shore and stared at the blue
horizon well out of reach.
I curled my toes in grains of sand
and turned toward the salt-kissed breeze.
But voiceless it whispered in unlearned tongues,
dark secrets from the deeps.
What I had come to the ocean to learn
was balance and peace of mind.
The laughing gulls in circling flocks
teased, “That, you’ll never find!
You’ve come to the bay for peace, you say?
You think it’s hidden in the sands?
Inside a shell, under stones, or across
the waters to distant lands?”
I thought the blue could cure me
in this sacred, ancestral place.
I thought my stress would wash away
as easily as footprints erase.
But what I had come to the ocean to learn
is not what the ocean taught.
I turned my back to the salty sea
And went elsewhere to find what I sought.
10.16.19
I'm an award-winning fantasy author, artist, and photographer from La Porte, Indiana. My poetry, short fiction, and memoir works have been featured in various anthologies and journals since 2005, and several of my poems are available in the Indiana Poetry Archives. The first two novels in my Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms series both received the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in 2020.
After working as a freelance writer for a time, I was shocked by how many website articles are actually written by paid "ghost writers" but credited to a different author. It was a jolt seeing my articles presented under the name of a high-profile CEO or an industry expert with decades of experience when in reality, I had none of those credentials. Just a talent for writing and the time to research topics. Ghost writing is perfectly legal and a VERY common practice.
You won't find that here on my website. I do not and never will pay a ghost writer, then slap my name on their work as if I'd written it. This website is 100% authentic. No outsourcing. No ghost writing. No AI-generated content. It's just me... as it should be.
If you would like to support my work, check out the Support The Creator page for more information. Thank you for finding my website! 🖤