“Silly, foolish wave, why do you come so far?
Do you once again forget who you are?
Upon the sands of the shore you do not belong.
Why do you so wastefully pour yourself out upon it all day long?”
“Is it merely to be seen, that you throw yourself upon the world’s shore?
Showing off your treasures gathered from the ocean floor?”
“No! No!” The tumbling waves replied.
“It is simply because we hold God’s glories inside.
They must be seen! They must be declared!
We can find no rest while they are hidden; they must be shared!”
“O foolish waves, surely you jest.
You wish to be seen, you are just like the rest.”
So the wind rose laughing as it disappeared in the sky
And the poor waves sank downward with the tide.
Perhaps the wind was right, they began to think.
Deeper and deeper their hearts began to sink.
Broken and fallen, all turbulent inside, they began to retreat,
They thought of all the dirt they carried inside and began to weep.
So back into the depths of the ocean they began to sink
Where no mans eye could travel and alone they could think
Further and further until they could go back no more
And they found themselves once again at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Such treasures and beauty met their eyes
Though they had seen it before they were still surprised
Such peace! Such wonder! Such abundance supplied!
Their hearts once again began to stir with the joy inside.
“It must be seen! It must be known!
It cannot remain hidden! It must be shown!”
Faster and faster their thoughts spun round
In a place of peace no peace they found!
They remembered the people who lived beyond the shore
Who sometimes wandered the banks looking for more.
In such poverty they lived, amidst such unrest
How they would stare out to sea in such distress.
With such thoughts and such treasures the waves could take no more
So they scooped up as much treasure as they could from the ocean floor.
Turning and churning with such delight
They hurried upward towards marvelous light.
The journey was long, which only caused them to swell
Larger and larger they grew as they had so much to tell!
Finally they reached the ocean shore;
How dry the land looked…how empty…how poor!
So the waves summoned up all their strength for one final rise
Up! Up! Towards the heaven they lifted their eyes.
They rose and rose until they could rise no more,
They were ready to pour themselves out on the land once more!
Their reach was far, their reach was wide.
They poured out everything they held inside.
They emptied themselves completely, they held no more.
They laid out all the treasures they gleaned from the ocean floor.
“Silly, foolish wave, why do you come so far?
Did you once again forget who you are?
Upon the sands of the shore you do not belong.
Why do you so wastefully pour yourself out upon it all day long?”
And so the waves and the wind still meet at the shore
Opposing one another, until they can take no more
The waves surge forward with its treasures for the weary to find
And the wind chases them back to the bosom of the sea as it was designed.
And so the Writer will always return once more
to pour out their soul on the world’s hard floor
Beaten back and emptied of all they have to give,
Pulled back into the depths of God where they are called to live.
