Librodidact

248 words | 1 min read

Today’s exercise is a continuation of “Being Gorgeous”, from “Steering the Craft”.

Ursula asks us to:

Try to make the rhythm and movement of the sentences embody or represent the physical reality you’re writing about.

So I chose to write from my experience about the deceptive nature of the ocean. Here’s my quick, five minute sketch:

From the shore, the ocean is peaceful. Calm and smooth, waves pushing in with steady grace. Even the largest waves are nothing more than background noise, curls of hushed beauty swallowing the sun. The water mirrors the sky: blue, constant, pure.

Every surfer knows this siren song the ocean sings, over and over. It’s not until you’re paddling on a fiberglass knife through towering monuments of water that you understand the danger. The blade is at your throat, even when you make it to the outside.

Hisses from behind mean it’s too late. Never turn your back on the ocean. You’ll be lifted, tossed, crushed under the fury of an unstoppable force. You’re nothing but flotsam, a pound of flesh no stronger than a jellyfish and even less important.

The beauty appears when you do catch a wave. Heart in throat, belly weak and eyes burning with salt, you leap at just the right moment and the gods look favorably on your dance. Only the fierce, the savage are rewarded. They survive to slip over the face of the Earth’s true mistress, unscathed. Goodness is an unknown quantity in the sea.

☼