Waves

By Carri Kuhn

I watch the waves as they travel to the shore, rolling in again and again. As with life, there is no way to stop their forward sweep. There is a rhythm in their constant striving and yet in this relentless pattern there is also freshness. Once they reach the shore they are lost. No wave meets the sand twice. No two moments are quite the same. I sense the need to take hold of each one and recognise the sacred possibility given to me.

Building up in the far deeps beyond my range of vision, waves come, unasked for. Whether I watch for them or not, they will be there. If my back is turned I may find myself swept off my feet. I can choose to be carried away, taken deeper. I can let myself be moved beyond the steady ground of what is familiar into the swells - some gentle and some forceful, insistent. They shift me from the known line of sight. Sometimes they push me under and I am tossed helplessly in their reckless energy, the roar of them in my ears, the taste of them rushing into my mouth and nose.

There are seasons and tides to be reckoned with. Sometimes there is a fullness in the forward movement and sometimes a holding back. I walk along the sand and my mind is full.

· Carri is a wife, mother and horse lover who has been in love with words ever since she can remember. She was unsure of her talent at first, but has become a beautiful and accomplished poet. Her work is authentic, delicate and perceptive. This early piece has all those qualities, foreshadowing the simplicity and depth of a form she has made her own.