Poetry

On Being a Marine Scientist

by Amy Deatherage

science, they say, is the pursuit of knowledge. thus,

marine science, one might reasonably resolve, is 

the pursuit of knowledge as it relates to the ocean.

it is this i pursue:

knowledge of the ocean.

funny how, almost instinctively, the rest of the world falls

away when i find myself standing before Her:

The Ocean - Her body before mine

undeniably massive -

Her rising,

arching, curling,

Her crashing before me,

around me,

over me;

over and over -

casually cruel in Her

tidal indifference.

the ocean, they say, is 95% unknown:

unmeasured, unmapped, undocumented.

here, i feel Her body completely - heavy, full,

powerful - against mine

and here, i come to know Her unreasonable,

immeasurable complexity; Her dark, irresistible

depth; Her sacred womb - the Life, beautiful and diverse, She births

and swaddles and nurtures; Her rebellious children afar - irreverent -

how even they She still sustains and knows; Her grieved,

unyielding love: raw, untamed (though not for lack of their trying),

and utterly wild. She, their Mother.

knowledge of the ocean, they say, is what i pursue.

knowledge (n.) - originating from early 12th century cnawlece -

"acknowledgment of a superior. honor. worship."

The Ocean.

She, my Mother.