Atlantic

Atlantic

I crossed the entire country to reach you
spanning thousands of miles,
flowing eastward with countless tiny streams
all of them aching and rushing to get to you

and to be honest…

I thought I would be more excited
when I finally you reached you.

But today, I’m tired from my travels
I flew from California, over the deserts and forests of Nevada and Utah and t hen drove across
Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York

My spirits are a little down right,
and my body is sick
I’m feeling introverted
and yet, you except me as the quiet guest that I am
like an old friend, needing no explanation

Subtlety and patience are yours today,
although that is not always the case

“There is an ancient conversation
between the water and the stone,” O’Donohue said

“Stone is strong, but water is stronger,
Force is strong, but kindness is stronger,” Hesse said

Today, I sit on your shore
and listen to the seabirds,
watching your surface move,
like the great body
of a sleeping beast

I lay on my back on a large rock
on the edge of your expanse
and close my eyes in the sun,
one arm covering my face,
the other hanging over the edge of the continent,
fingertips dipped into your cold water

Today, on this day of such large anticipation,
I am unexpectedly grateful
for such a quiet and uneventful arrival -
anticlimactic as we lay together in the sun,
the Atlantic Ocean and I

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What life experiences have you savored that were subtle or anticlimactic, yet joyful and exciting? Have you ever anticipated something your expectations turn into something different than you’d expected? Have you ever felt welcomed by a place? Please share your story in the comment section below, or send me a message at wes@livethecuriouslife.com I would love to hear from you. Thanks.