Finding Yourself

My all time favourite poet is e.e. cummings and I think one of my very favourite of his poems is this one:

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

***

Isn't that last line so true? We DO discover ourselves at the sea. Late afternoon today we went down to the beach. Jonty was jumping around in the waves, Emily was killing sea monsters, Nina was dancing around bobbing and weaving, splashing, shrieking with laughter. Nick found a starfish and a hermit crab, and I was simply watching them with a grin from ear to ear, just loving being there, loving my children, loving my handsome husband...

I love being at the sea.