The Magnetic Sea

• Kat Anderson

Water Baby Daddy

I was thinking about some of the things my dad loved.  The sea has to be up there at the top of the list.  My dad loved the water.  On day trips to the seaside, as soon as we found a spot to settle on the beach, he was gone, stripping off quickly to charge into the sea.  I remember being small and watching dad go.  Even into my adulthood, it would be the same thing.  He would dash off into the water.  All I could do, as a child or an adult was watch him as he dipped and swam between the waves.

It strikes me as remarkable, this drive and pull to the sea.  My dad was a passionate man.  He certainly loved what he loved with his whole heart.  The sea was like medicine to him.  The perfect tonic to heal and replenish him.

I’d really like to be by the sea right now, remembering dad racing towards the water.  When dad died, our family said that we would make annual trips to the seaside in his memory.  I can’t wait until we can do that.  And take a bunch of friends with us too.  Dad would love that!

xxx

The Magnetic Sea

 

“You can’t go where I’m going”

Said my dad to little me

“Wait by the shore

And rest assured

I’ll be back before you can even miss me”

 

Charging towards the vastness

Of cold, dark, deep, surging sea

It was not always tranquil

And I was so thankful

That you’d return so full of glee.

 

Sometimes I couldn’t trace you

Lost whilst bobbing along your spree

Me, gripped with fear

Year on year

You had a date to dive in and be free.

 

I often wondered why you were mesmerized

Drawn in by the power of the sea

My water baby daddy

So elegant and classy

With each stroke you were so carefree.

 

What did the sea give you?

Could you lose yourself and be as tiny as a pea?

Who are we after all?

Mostly insignificant and small

But you meant the world to me.

 

Did the sea remind you of your daddy?

So brave, strong, quick and worthy

Did his presence feel near?

Your memories clear?

I’m only guessing – could it be likely?

 

“You can’t go where I’m going”

Said my dad to adult me

And yet I wonder if I wait by the shore

I’ll see you once more

In the boundless, open waves, eternally free.

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