The Sea Calls Home
Memory ebbs
And flows like the tide
It heals and it hurts
It breaks and it binds
It leaves a mark
So soon washed away
But never quite gone
The Island remains
Tide chases time
Each nowhere to go
They pass slowly here
Together, alone
Depths and shallows
Each breath and each wave
A rhythm rehearsed
Song always the same
Those lost adrift
Are beckoned to find
Those moments long passed
In silence they sigh
With arms outstretched
Waves cradle and crash
Release and return
To find your way back
Salt clings to souls
And settles in bones
You may leave the land
But the sea calls home
Responses
The sea is powerful — a vital organ, almost. For centuries it was the only way of transporting goods and people across vast distances. Dangerous, but also life-giving, it creates and breaks memories. For years I felt lost and adrift, but a place by the sea called to me also. In Orkney I have found a home and make new memories every day.
– Response from CH Orkney