Ocean

• Hannah Thompson, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2012

Windy and wild the ocean roars
Clawing at my hair, strands whipping in my face
Steely grey and churned, froth running up the swash
Not the serene cerulean of postcards.
The ocean I love is raw and untamed.
A monster ready to strike.
I paddle out, foam blurring my vision
Grabbing at the surface. Splash Splash
Others perched on their boards like seagulls. Alert
and searching the smoky horizon.
A wave builds
Pure energy surging towards me
It curls, like a deadly claw
Like a flock taking flight we paddle furiously
A bubble of adrenalin building inside me
And then. The lift. The familiar push and pull
I kneel. Then stand
The rush taking my breath away