Painting by William Trost Richards‘The Sea’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson The Society July 24, 2023 Beauty, Poetry, The Environment 26 Comments . The Sea The sea rolls on, unchanged. Unmarred By earthly wars it stays unscarred. Always as long as man exists, The sea will froth in perfect bliss. When our life is borne away, And sunlit fingers point the way, The sea will simply shrug its shoal, For who shall stop its ebb and flow? . . LTC Roy E. Peterson, US Army Military Intelligence and Russian Foreign Area Officer (Retired) has published more than 5,000 poems in 78 of his 101 books. He has been an Army Attaché in Moscow, Commander of INF Portal Monitoring in Votkinsk, first US Foreign Commercial Officer in Vladivostok, Russia and Regional Manager in the Russian Far East for IBM. He holds a BA, Hardin-Simmons University (Political Science); MA, University of Arizona (Political Science); MA, University of Southern California (Int. Relations) and MBA University of Phoenix. He taught at the University of Arizona, Western New Mexico University, University of Maryland, Travel University and the University of Phoenix. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 26 Responses Brian A Yapko July 24, 2023 An evocative poem, Roy, which speaks of deep truth. It is a humbling reminder that our fleeting problems and issues pale in significance with the permanence of the sea, which ebbs and flows whether we’re there or not. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Thank you, Brian. You always find the true meaning of poems and the thoughts that go into them. Reply Paul Freeman July 24, 2023 This poem had me in mind of the Time Traveller from H. G. Wells’s book ‘The Time Machine’. At one point he travels into the distant future, on a shore, where the sun has expanded and human life has ended. But still the moon and the sea exert their influence. In the news last week, it appears that the oceans have changed colour (becoming lighter in hue) due to a reduction of biomass (oxygen-producing plants) caused by a warming of the seas. This would also account too for the bleached coral reefs. But then what do oceanographers and marine biologists know? Thanks for a short, poignant piece, Roy. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Thank you for your kind comments, information, and thoughts! Reply James Sale July 24, 2023 I like the sentiment and I like the form, Roy, but not sure I can really agree with the content – however, that is not a reason for not liking a poem! I like it, but as Heraclitus observed: all things change and I don’t think the sea is an exception. We’ve had the Flood in the past, which wasn’t pretty even if it was necessary; we now have in the present the plastic waste gumming up much of the sea; and we have a future perspective from the book of Revelation in which we are told there will be no more sea. Of course what the ‘sea’ means in that context might be debatable, might be symbolic etc. But you get my drift. Still, maybe what I like about the poem is your ‘drift’: namely, there is in watching the sea something eternally spiritual that inspires us, and as long as we do see it we will remain inspired! Regards. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Excellent thoughts, James! I love your thought about getting the “drift.” You are right, like Paul, that the “sea” as oceans, are in trouble, yet they do represent a more spiritual aspect of our existence. Reply Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2023 I have read (it may not be true) that our word “sea” is etymologically related to the word “soul” — the supposed connection being that like the sea, the soul is a constantly moving and unpredictable reality that is unfathomable. I am somewhat frightened by the sea, and am never comfortable on boats or ships. At best I enjoy sitting on the beach, wading in the surf, and watching the endless ebb and flow of the waves. The thought of massive tsunamis petrifies me, and I cannot watch Hawaiian surfers riding those waves that are two stories high. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Wonderful thoughts about the sea and soul relationship. I do not like boats either. I have been on two of them and both had extensive problems. The first was on a lake in Abilene, Texas. The father of my college roommate got a boat in exchange for property and had never learned about boats. He ran out of gas in the middle of the lake, got a refill from a passing motorboat driver, headed for shore and as we hit the beach he asked us how to stop it! We tumbled on the beach. The second one was going from Vladivostok a short distance to Russkiy Island. As the Foreign Commercial Officer in the Russian Far East, one of the firms I was supporting in international trade wanted me to go on a picnic outing with the potential trade partner and his staff.The boat with a drunk captain hit a promontory on the way and we almost capsized. We had to rock the boat from inside, listing 1/3rd on its side, to get it off the rock. Reply Margaret Coats July 24, 2023 Unchanged, perhaps, but with so much variety in its constant nature! Color, temperature, motion, storms and doldrums in flux on the surface, as is the life within it and the geothermal violence beneath. I love “shrug its shoals,” to mention another feature that is constantly changing at different rates. An untrustworthy sandbar can disappear in an hour, as I have found with my feet. Did you write a short poem, Roy, because that’s all it takes to set readers’ imaginations swimming or sailing? Please have “born” in line 5 changed to “borne.” Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 25, 2023 You are right as always about changing born to borne! I will do that. Thank you for catching that and your excellent analysis. The features in and around the sea itself are constantly changing, yet my contemplation of the surface is that it still operates the same since time immemorial. Reply Monika Cooper July 25, 2023 I like the eerily beautiful “sunlit fingers” pointing the way and the open-ended shoal/flow rhyme which leaves the piece feeling unsettled, unfinished (but unmarred, unscarred). “Shoal” itself there is an unfinished lazy “shoulder,” a half-pun: evoking the formless form of the ocean. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 25, 2023 Monika, you are so perceptive of “shoal.” Indeed it was intended as a pun, or as you put it a “half pun.” Thank you for your thoughts. Reply M Harrison July 25, 2023 “The sea will froth in perfect bliss.” “For who shall stop its ebb and flow?” This poem fosters rich contemplation. For me, it made me think about detachment and humility. It reminded me that anxiety is entirely man-man; nature has no such struggle. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Thank you for sharing your feelings and thoughts. Reply Paul Martin Freeman July 25, 2023 Lovely poem, Roy. Finely contemplative. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Thank you for the kind comments, Paul. Reply Shaun C. Duncan July 25, 2023 Yes, the sea changes and no two waves are alike but the whole endures, unchanging in its sea-ness. Many find great comfort in meditating on the movements of the waves and you’ve done well to capture something of this in such a short piece. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Bless you for your thoughtful comments! Reply Nathan McKee July 26, 2023 Roy, thank you for sharing. One reason I believe the great scenes of nature are so soothing to humanity is their stability. To sit among hundred-year-old trees, to gaze upon an ancient mountain range, to recline by the sea and listen to its incessant ebb and flow of the tide, or, my personal favorite lately, to look up into the depthless sky and see the stars and planets, reminds us of our proper place. And rather than making me feel small, it brings me great peace of mind. I echo Bilbo’s sentiment in the Hobbit: Gandalf: “You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!” “Thank goodness!” said Bilbo Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Wonderful comments on contemplative moods! Thank you, Nathan for your contribution. Reply Joshua C. Frank July 26, 2023 Beautiful poem, Roy. You’ve done a great job of describing the permanence of the sea. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Thank you, Joshua. When I have visited the ocean/sea, I have reflected on beauty and permanence, also. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 27, 2023 Roy, this shining gem of a poem paints a wonderful picture of the sea in its rhythmic constancy. I love sea and sky watching… there’s something glorious and humbling about it… for me, it puts all in perspective and makes me realize that looking to man for the answer to your smile of a closing question is futile… King Canute springs to mind. Wonderful! Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 31, 2023 Enchanting comments, Susan. We seem to view the sea the same way, timeless and charming. Reply Lucia Haase July 31, 2023 Very beautiful poem. I’m inspired by the sea quite often too, even though I don’t live by the sea. Thank you for the lovely inspiration. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson July 31, 2023 I am the same way now, although I have lived near the sea at various times. The sea still inspires. Thank you for your thoughts. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Brian A Yapko July 24, 2023 An evocative poem, Roy, which speaks of deep truth. It is a humbling reminder that our fleeting problems and issues pale in significance with the permanence of the sea, which ebbs and flows whether we’re there or not. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Thank you, Brian. You always find the true meaning of poems and the thoughts that go into them. Reply
Paul Freeman July 24, 2023 This poem had me in mind of the Time Traveller from H. G. Wells’s book ‘The Time Machine’. At one point he travels into the distant future, on a shore, where the sun has expanded and human life has ended. But still the moon and the sea exert their influence. In the news last week, it appears that the oceans have changed colour (becoming lighter in hue) due to a reduction of biomass (oxygen-producing plants) caused by a warming of the seas. This would also account too for the bleached coral reefs. But then what do oceanographers and marine biologists know? Thanks for a short, poignant piece, Roy. Reply
James Sale July 24, 2023 I like the sentiment and I like the form, Roy, but not sure I can really agree with the content – however, that is not a reason for not liking a poem! I like it, but as Heraclitus observed: all things change and I don’t think the sea is an exception. We’ve had the Flood in the past, which wasn’t pretty even if it was necessary; we now have in the present the plastic waste gumming up much of the sea; and we have a future perspective from the book of Revelation in which we are told there will be no more sea. Of course what the ‘sea’ means in that context might be debatable, might be symbolic etc. But you get my drift. Still, maybe what I like about the poem is your ‘drift’: namely, there is in watching the sea something eternally spiritual that inspires us, and as long as we do see it we will remain inspired! Regards. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Excellent thoughts, James! I love your thought about getting the “drift.” You are right, like Paul, that the “sea” as oceans, are in trouble, yet they do represent a more spiritual aspect of our existence. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2023 I have read (it may not be true) that our word “sea” is etymologically related to the word “soul” — the supposed connection being that like the sea, the soul is a constantly moving and unpredictable reality that is unfathomable. I am somewhat frightened by the sea, and am never comfortable on boats or ships. At best I enjoy sitting on the beach, wading in the surf, and watching the endless ebb and flow of the waves. The thought of massive tsunamis petrifies me, and I cannot watch Hawaiian surfers riding those waves that are two stories high. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2023 Wonderful thoughts about the sea and soul relationship. I do not like boats either. I have been on two of them and both had extensive problems. The first was on a lake in Abilene, Texas. The father of my college roommate got a boat in exchange for property and had never learned about boats. He ran out of gas in the middle of the lake, got a refill from a passing motorboat driver, headed for shore and as we hit the beach he asked us how to stop it! We tumbled on the beach. The second one was going from Vladivostok a short distance to Russkiy Island. As the Foreign Commercial Officer in the Russian Far East, one of the firms I was supporting in international trade wanted me to go on a picnic outing with the potential trade partner and his staff.The boat with a drunk captain hit a promontory on the way and we almost capsized. We had to rock the boat from inside, listing 1/3rd on its side, to get it off the rock. Reply
Margaret Coats July 24, 2023 Unchanged, perhaps, but with so much variety in its constant nature! Color, temperature, motion, storms and doldrums in flux on the surface, as is the life within it and the geothermal violence beneath. I love “shrug its shoals,” to mention another feature that is constantly changing at different rates. An untrustworthy sandbar can disappear in an hour, as I have found with my feet. Did you write a short poem, Roy, because that’s all it takes to set readers’ imaginations swimming or sailing? Please have “born” in line 5 changed to “borne.” Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 25, 2023 You are right as always about changing born to borne! I will do that. Thank you for catching that and your excellent analysis. The features in and around the sea itself are constantly changing, yet my contemplation of the surface is that it still operates the same since time immemorial. Reply
Monika Cooper July 25, 2023 I like the eerily beautiful “sunlit fingers” pointing the way and the open-ended shoal/flow rhyme which leaves the piece feeling unsettled, unfinished (but unmarred, unscarred). “Shoal” itself there is an unfinished lazy “shoulder,” a half-pun: evoking the formless form of the ocean. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 25, 2023 Monika, you are so perceptive of “shoal.” Indeed it was intended as a pun, or as you put it a “half pun.” Thank you for your thoughts. Reply
M Harrison July 25, 2023 “The sea will froth in perfect bliss.” “For who shall stop its ebb and flow?” This poem fosters rich contemplation. For me, it made me think about detachment and humility. It reminded me that anxiety is entirely man-man; nature has no such struggle. Reply
Shaun C. Duncan July 25, 2023 Yes, the sea changes and no two waves are alike but the whole endures, unchanging in its sea-ness. Many find great comfort in meditating on the movements of the waves and you’ve done well to capture something of this in such a short piece. Reply
Nathan McKee July 26, 2023 Roy, thank you for sharing. One reason I believe the great scenes of nature are so soothing to humanity is their stability. To sit among hundred-year-old trees, to gaze upon an ancient mountain range, to recline by the sea and listen to its incessant ebb and flow of the tide, or, my personal favorite lately, to look up into the depthless sky and see the stars and planets, reminds us of our proper place. And rather than making me feel small, it brings me great peace of mind. I echo Bilbo’s sentiment in the Hobbit: Gandalf: “You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!” “Thank goodness!” said Bilbo Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Wonderful comments on contemplative moods! Thank you, Nathan for your contribution. Reply
Joshua C. Frank July 26, 2023 Beautiful poem, Roy. You’ve done a great job of describing the permanence of the sea. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 27, 2023 Thank you, Joshua. When I have visited the ocean/sea, I have reflected on beauty and permanence, also. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 27, 2023 Roy, this shining gem of a poem paints a wonderful picture of the sea in its rhythmic constancy. I love sea and sky watching… there’s something glorious and humbling about it… for me, it puts all in perspective and makes me realize that looking to man for the answer to your smile of a closing question is futile… King Canute springs to mind. Wonderful! Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 31, 2023 Enchanting comments, Susan. We seem to view the sea the same way, timeless and charming. Reply
Lucia Haase July 31, 2023 Very beautiful poem. I’m inspired by the sea quite often too, even though I don’t live by the sea. Thank you for the lovely inspiration. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson July 31, 2023 I am the same way now, although I have lived near the sea at various times. The sea still inspires. Thank you for your thoughts. Reply
