khamush.com Lifestyle | Motivation | Poems
The ocean has played an important part in poetry from its inception, which explains why there are so many ocean poems in literature. It’s simple to understand why.
The ocean, which is both wild and serene, deadly and beautiful, is full of contrasts and mystery. Ocean poems can be dedicated to portraying the heart of the ocean, as well as analogies for romance and trauma, among other things.
More than that, the ocean has played an important part in many civilizations’ histories, making it a location that is both incredibly personal and massively universal. Poems about the ocean, unsurprisingly, come in a variety of forms.
Ocean water encompasses three main quarters of the earth’s surface. The ocean is home to billions of species that collaborate in ways we can never completely comprehend. Much of the ocean is enigmatic.
We ride in ships on the surface of the ocean and relax on beachfront watching the waves crash against the shore. One of the wonderful aspects about the ocean is that we cannot build on it.
It will continue to be a huge open place ideal for contemplation. Here’s a compilation of some amazing ocean poems for you, ranging from a simple observation of the water to a mirror of our own life.
You May Also Be Interested In:
Best Ocean Poems
We explored the oceans of poetry to provide you the best poems about the ocean from over a decades of English-language poetry. So if you’re ready let’s dive into these best poems about the sea.
1. A Miracle to Behold
by Patricia A. Fleming
Seagulls soar above her surf,
The sun reflects and gleams,
While people come from miles around
To stroll upon her beach.
Her touch conveys an icy chill
Through her stinging, foamy spray,
While her thunderous waves rush to the shore,
Then gently roll away.
Her blue horizon meets the sky,
The end cannot be seen
While her salty fragrance fills the air
And floats upon the breeze.
She safely cradles in her arms
The boats that bounce upon her tides
And plays coy with all the surfers
Who beckon for another ride.
She can distract us from our worries.
She can lure and hypnotize.
With the rhythm of her movement
And her beauty in our eyes.
She’s a force that can’t be reckoned with,
A power to revere.
She’s a lovely, sweet seductress
Who we long to settle near.
There are no words that truly tell
The splendor of her face
Or recreate that feeling,
Of such a warm and peaceful place.
The ocean is a lovely gift.
She’s God’s great Masterpiece.
A miracle we can behold
That gives us reason to believe.
2. The Ocean of Song
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
In a land beyond sight or conceiving,
In a land where no blight is, no wrong,
No darkness, no graves, and no grieving,
There lies the great ocean of song.
And its waves, oh, its waves unbeholden
By any save gods, and their kind,
Are not blue, are not green, but are golden,
Like moonlight and sunlight combined.
It was whispered to me that their waters
Were made from the gathered-up tears
That were wept by the sons and the daughters
Of long-vanished eras and spheres.
Like white sands of heaven the spray is
That falls all the happy day long,
And whoever it touches straightway is
Made glad with the spirit of song.
Up, up to the clouds where their hoary
Crowned heads melt away in the skies,
The beautiful mountains of glory
Each side of the song-ocean rise.
Here day is one splendour of sky-light –
Of God’s light with beauty replete.
Here night is not night, but is twilight,
Pervading, enfolding, and sweet.
Bright birds from all climes and all regions,
That sing the whole glad summer long,
Are dumb, till they flock here in legions
And lave in the ocean of song.
It is here that the four winds of heaven,
The winds that do sing and rejoice,
It is here they first came and were given
The secret of sound and a voice.
Far down along beautiful beeches,
By night and by glorious day,
The throng of the gifted ones reaches,
Their foreheads made white with the spray,
And a few of the sons and the daughters
Of this kingdom, cloud-hidden from sight,
Go down in the wonderful waters,
And bathe in those billows of light.
And their souls evermore are like fountains,
And liquid and lucent and strong,
High over the tops of the mountains
Gush up the sweet billows of song.
No drouth-time of waters can dry them.
Whoever has bathed in that sea,
All dangers, all deaths, they defy them,
And are gladder than gods are, with glee.
3. How to be an ocean
by Ella Standage
Begin as the laughter of stars. as ice.
waltz lazy orbits around the rock with no name
and watch, and watch. here; a planet is being born.
a heartbeat starts—hydrogen gasps—you melt.
Becoming water is like the pitch of your voice changing
overnight. an ache when you say your old name out loud.
your songs are different now: muffled from the sea-floor,
and when the moon calls, you learn the steps of the dance.
The moon winks flirtations / and you reflect them back.
the moon whispers in abalone / and you reply in chalky white.
at night she tugs at you, rumpling the tides like sheets
and curling into a blurry crescent until your waves soften.
And one day a voice says wódr or ὕδωρ or aqua or water:
which means being a horizon dreamt in blue, which means
crests of wave reaching for the moon, storm and still and anything
inbetween, because sea-slosh sounds the same to every ear.
A girl stands on the ocean and does not drown. you draw
the shape of her name in coastlines, give her shells and seasalt.
she will ask you how to be an ocean / and as the tide comes in
you will laugh and say my first breath was a flood.
4. Ode to Our Ocean
by Amanda Gorman
The sea sings out to its many saviors:
Teenagers with fists thrust into the air at climate strikes,
Scientists converging around their data,
A child who stoops to scoop up a piece of trash.
The sea sings out for its singular subjects:
Arching whales that wave from their waves,
Turtles that teeter down their shining shores,
Coral reefs shining brightly as cities.
The sea sings out its suffering,
Knowing too much of waste, screeching sounds
And pernicious poison, its depths bruised by
Atrocities in the Atlantic,
Misery in the Mediterranean,
Its tides the preservers of time past.
The story of the ocean and the story of humanity
Are one and the same, a Great River that
Knows no borders and notes no lines,
Only ripples.
While we might call it the Seven Seas,
Today we sing out your true name:
The one ocean.
For no matter how we try to separate your waters,
You are the colossus that connects us.
Water makes up 70% of Earth,
70% of the human heart,
And 70% of the human being,
All of us, bodies of water,
For we, too are oceans,
Or at least beings bobbing in the same boat.
To stand up for for our ocean
Is to stand up for our own ship
The sea is a restless, strong collective of many pieces.
So are we.
The ocean can recover.
And so will we.
Let us not divide the tides,
But discover all they have to teach us–
Green meadows of sea grass that survive pathogens,
Blue-bloodied marine snails that can fight off viruses.
There are more lessons to learn,
Still more work to be done.
So we lift our faces to the sun.
May the seas help us see healing and hope,
May we sing out the ocean’s survival and revival.
Being the people of this blue planet is our most
Profound privilege and power,
For if we be the ocean’s saviors,
Then it is surely ours.
5. Ocean Fresh
by Clair Chick
Ocean fresh clear and blue,
Crystal sand so pure.
Dolphins play here and there,
Jumping round through the air.
Turtles swim day and night,
Get stuck in bottle rings, what a fright.
There is really no way to describe this place,
Hidden beneath its one big garbage waste.
Toxic waste oil spills,
Fishing line and plastic bags kill.
We can change what lies beneath,
No more whaling.
No more sleep,
Until we do something to change the big deep.
Once again the oceans so pure,
Leave it clean for people to endure.
6. I am the Ocean
by Lucy Kang
I am
Graceful, Beautiful, Strong
I care about the plants and animals that live in me.
Anti-pollution is important to me.
The quality of the life the organisms have is important to me.
Being optimistic of things changing is important to me.
I cover 71% of the Earth and yet you still don’t take care of me.
Everything in me is dying.
The more pollution, the more dying.
People must care.
I am.
7. The Sweep of Ocean
by Amos Russel Wells
Imperially free,
The bay slow-widens out into the sea,
Subdues its lordly headlands, cramps its shore,
Hushes its breakers to a silent gleam,
And yields itself entire for evermore
To ocean’s incommunicable dream.
Who follows? What far-winged flight of soul
Spurns the near dancing wave,
And set and brave
Beats out and out beyond all tame control
Into the age-long sweep.
The dim and dread horizons of the deep?
look not behind
At waning cottage and the friendly wood,
Things warm and bright and fondly understood,
Hearts dearly good.
Be desperately deaf, be sternly blind
Fling yourself out into forgetfulness,
And press, press, press
Through the austere, untrodden wastes of air,
Seeking what thing is there.
Yours not to say
What you shall meet on this mysterious way,
Red lightnings crashing through demonic night,
Delicate seas that laugh into the light,
The gaping mouths of monsters waiting grim,
Sweet islands wreathed and dim,
Or only barren wastes of mocking spray
Ever rebuffing whom they still invite.
Nor dare you feel
Here in this welter of the infinite
That you are less than it.
Though purpose falter and though spirit reel
With vastness of the waters and the dread
Of nothingness, and though your soul is dead,
And all is dead above you and below
And in the fog-filled void to which you go
Still must you go invincible, serene,
Still must you proudly know
You are but traversing your own demesne.
And must we seek forever through the air?
Must we forever bear
This awful weight of loneliness, nor turn
Back to the homely bay for which we yearn,
Back to the cottage comforts fondly fair?
Yes, comrade, yes?
Whoever takes this path,
At peril of hot shame and branding wrath
Must not turn back,
But press, press, press
Upon the vague, unending, glorious track,
Whate’er the ocean hath.
Who once has felt the sea-sweep, nevermore
May dare to know the confines of the shore.
8. The Sea Spirit
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I smile o’er the wrinkled blue
Lo! the sea is fair,
Smooth as the flow of a maiden’s hair;
And the welkin’s light shines through
Into mid-sea caverns of beryl hue,
And the little waves laugh and the mermaids sing,
And the sea is a beautiful, sinuous thing!
I scowl in sullen guise
The sea grows dark and dun,
The swift clouds hide the sun
But not the bale-light in my eyes,
And the frightened wind as it flies
Ruffles the billows with stormy wing,
And the sea is a terrible, treacherous thing!
When moonlight glimmers dim
I pass in the path of the mist,
Like a pale spirit by spirits kissed.
At dawn I chant my own weird hymn,
And I dabble my hair in the sunset’s rim,
And I call to the dwellers along the shore
With a voice of gramarye evermore.
And if one for love of me
Gives to my call an ear,
I will woo him and hold him dear,
And teach him the way of the sea,
And my glamor shall ever over him be;
Though he wander afar in the cities of men
He will come at last to my arms again.
Famous Ocean Poems
Allow these famous poems about the ocean to educate you of the majesty of our oceans and how they may mirror the phases of our life. These famous ocean poems warn us that the ocean is huge and hides many mysteries.
1. Sail Away
by Rabindranath Tagore
Early in the day it was whispered that we should sail in a boat,
only thou and I, and never a soul in the world would know of this our
pilgrimage to no country and to no end.
In that shoreless ocean,
at thy silently listening smile my songs would swell in melodies,
free as waves, free from all bondage of words.
Is the time not come yet?
Are there works still to do?
Lo, the evening has come down upon the shore
and in the fading light the seabirds come flying to their nests.
Who knows when the chains will be off,
and the boat, like the last glimmer of sunset,
vanish into the night?
2. Lines to the Ocean
by Martha Lavinia Hoffman
Old Ocean, none knoweth thy story;
Man cannot thy secrets unfold,
Thy blue waves sing songs of thy glory
But where are thy treasures untold?
Are they hidden away in the mosses
And sea-weed that covers thy bed?
O tell us, where are all our losses,
Our gold and our gems and our dead?
O where are the loved ones who perished,
Who found in thy bosom their grave?
O where are the fond hopes so cherished
That sank ‘neath thy cold, cruel wave?
Ships loaded with jewels unnumbered
Have sunk in thy waters from sight,
While passengers, e’en while they slumbered,
Were lost in thy cold cheerless night.
Down deep in thy depths they are buried,
NO more on the earth will they shine.
Far, far, from our reach they are carried
To rest in the Ocean’s vast mine.
Thou hast them, old Ocean, and mortals
Can never take from thee thy prey;
In thee did they find the tomb’s portals,
And none knew the spot where they lay.
None knoweth? One sees where they slumber,
And greater than thine is His will;
He seeth thy gems without number,
He speaks and thy breakers are still.
There is One who hath had in all ages,
Dominion o’er sea and o’er land;
He ruleth the sea when it rageth,
He holdeth the deep in his hand.
Roll on, chilly wave and fierce breaker,
And guard the vast stores of thy bed;
‘Till at the command of their Maker,
The waters shall give up their dead.
3. The ocean said to me once
by Stephen Maria Crane
The ocean said to me once,
“Look!
Yonder on the shore
Is a woman, weeping.
I have watched her.
Go you and tell her this —
Her lover I have laid
In cool green hall.
There is wealth of golden sand
And pillars, coral-red;
Two white fish stand guard at his bier.
“Tell her this
And more —
That the king of the seas
Weeps too, old, helpless man.
The bustling fates
Heap his hands with corpses
Until he stands like a child
With a surplus of toys.”
4. Seashore
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
I heard or seemed to hear the chiding Sea
Say, Pilgrim, why so late and slow to come?
Am I not always here, thy summer home?
Is not my voice thy music, morn and eve?
My breath thy healthful climate in the heats,
My touch thy antidote, my bay thy bath?
Was ever building like my terraces?
Was ever couch magnificent as mine?
Lie on the warm rock-ledges, and there learn
A little hut suffices like a town.
I make your sculptured architecture vain,
Vain beside mine. I drive my wedges home,
And carve the coastwise mountain into caves.
Lo! here is Rome and Nineveh and Thebes,
Karnak and Pyramid and Giant’s Stairs
Half piled or prostrate; and my newest slab
Older than all thy race.
Behold the Sea,
The opaline, the plentiful and strong,
Yet beautiful as is the rose in June,
Fresh as the trickling rainbow of July;
Sea full of food, the nourisher of kinds,
Purger of earth, and medicine of men;
Creating a sweet climate by my breath,
Washing out harms and griefs from memory,
And, in my mathematic ebb and flow,
Giving a hint of that which changes not.
Rich are the sea-gods:–who gives gifts but they?
They grope the sea for pearls, but more than pearls:
They pluck Force thence, and give it to the wise.
For every wave is wealth to Dædalus,
Wealth to the cunning artist who can work
This matchless strength. Where shall he find, O waves!
A load your Atlas shoulders cannot lift?
I with my hammer pounding evermore
The rocky coast, smite Andes into dust,
Strewing my bed, and, in another age,
Rebuild a continent of better men.
Then I unbar the doors: my paths lead out
The exodus of nations: I dispersed
Men to all shores that front the hoary main.
I too have arts and sorceries;
Illusion dwells forever with the wave.
I know what spells are laid. Leave me to deal
With credulous and imaginative man;
For, though he scoop my water in his palm,
A few rods off he deems it gems and clouds.
Planting strange fruits and sunshine on the shore,
I make some coast alluring, some lone isle,
To distant men, who must go there, or die.
5. Ocean of Forms
by Rabindranath Tagore
I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms,
hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless.
No more sailing from harbor to harbor with this my weather-beaten boat.
The days are long passed when my sport was to be tossed on waves.
And now I am eager to die into the deathless.
Into the audience hall by the fathomless abyss
where swells up the music of toneless strings
I shall take this harp of my life.
I shall tune it to the notes of forever,
and when it has sobbed out its last utterance,
lay down my silent harp at the feet of the silent.
6. Apostrophe to the Ocean
by George Gordon Byron
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean—roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin—his control
Stops with the shore;—upon the watery plain
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain
A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own,
When for a moment, like a drop of rain,
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.
His steps are not upon thy paths,—thy fields
Are not a spoil for him,—thou dost arise
And shake him from thee; the vile strength he wields
For earth’s destruction thou dost all despise,
Spurning him from thy bosom to the skies,
And send’st him, shivering in thy playful spray
And howling, to his gods, where haply lies
His petty hope in some near port or bay,
And dashest him again to earth:—there let him lay.
The armaments which thunderstrike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake,
And monarchs tremble in their capitals.
The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make
Their clay creator the vain title take
Of lord of thee, and arbiter of war;
These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake,
They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar
Alike the Armada’s pride, or spoils of Trafalgar.
Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee—
Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage, what are they?
Thy waters washed them power while they were free
And many a tyrant since: their shores obey
The stranger, slave, or savage; their decay
Has dried up realms to deserts: not so thou,
Unchangeable save to thy wild waves’ play—
Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow—
Such as creation’s dawn beheld, thou rollest now.
Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty’s form
Glasses itself in tempests; in all time,
Calm or convulsed—in breeze, or gale, or storm,
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime
Dark-heaving;—boundless, endless, and sublime—
The image of Eternity—the throne
Of the Invisible; even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made; each zone
Obeys thee: thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone.
And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy
Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be
Borne like thy bubbles, onward: from a boy
I wantoned with thy breakers—they to me
Were a delight; and if the freshening sea
Made them a terror—’twas a pleasing fear,
For I was as it were a child of thee,
And trusted to thy billows far and near,
And laid my hand upon thy mane—as I do here.
7. July Fourth by The Ocean
by Robinson Jeffers
The continent’s a tamed ox, with all its mountains,
Powerful and servile; here is for plowland, here is
for park and playground, this helpless
Cataract for power; it lies behind us at heel
All docile between this ocean and the other. If
flood troubles the lowlands, or earthquake
Cracks walls, it is only a slave’s blunder or the
natural
Shudder of a new made slave. Therefore we happy
masters about the solstice
Light bonfires on the shore and celebrate our power.
The bay’s necklaced with fire, the bombs make crystal
fountains in the air, the rockets
Shower swan’s-neck over the night water…. I
imagined
The stars drew apart a little as if from troublesome
children, coldly compassionate;
But the ocean neither seemed astonished nor in awe:
If this had been the little sea that Xerxes whipped,
how it would have feared us.
8. At Sea
by Simon Armitage
It is not through weeping,
but all evening the pale blue eye
on your most photogenic side has kept
its own unfathomable tide. Like the boy
at the dyke I have been there:
held out a huge finger,
lifted atoms of dust with the point
of a tissue and imagined slivers of hair
in the oil on the cornea. We are both
in the dark, but I go on
drawing the eyelid up by its lashes
folding it almost inside-out, then finding
and hiding every mirror in the house
as the iris, besieged with the ink
of blood rolls back
into its own orbit. Nothing
will help it. Through until dawn
you dream the true story of the boy
who hooked out his eye and ate it,
so by six in the morning
I am steadying the ointment
that will bite like an onion, piping
a line of cream while avoiding the pupil
and in no time it is glued shut
like a bad mussel.
Friends call round
and mean well. They wait
and whisper in the air-lock of the lobby
with patches, eyewash, the truth
about mascara.
Even the cats are on to it;
they bring in starlings, and because their feathers
are the colours of oil on water in sunlight
they are a sign of something.
In the long hours
beyond us, irritations heal
into arguments. For the eighteenth time
it comes to this: the length of your leg sliding out
from the covers, the ball of your foot
like a fist on the carpet
while downstairs
I cannot bring myself to hear it.
Words have been spoken; things that were bottled
have burst open and to walk in now
would be to walk in
on the ocean.
Short Ocean Poems
These beautiful short ocean poems inform us of our inner strength and tenacity, as well as our love and weaknesses. They assist us in weathering difficult times and trials, knowing that calmer waves will eventually replace the storm.
1. The Sea
by Shirley Fudge
Gentle lulling of the sea,
Once again you beckon me.
Caressing waves upon the shore
Transporting me to years of yore.
As a child, your charm I sought,
Protecting me from battles fought.
Upon your craggy cliff I sat
To gaze in awe and wonder at
The magic of your shimmering tide
That restored ease and peace inside.
2. Voice of the Sea
by William Stanley Braithwaite
Voice of the sea that calls to me,
Heart of the woods my own heart loves,
I am part of your mystery—
Moved by the soul your own soul moves.
Dream of the stars in the night-sea’s dome,
Somewhere in your infinite space
After the years I will come home,
Back to your halls to claim my place.
3. Ocean
by Benjamin Franklin Field
Ocean, pray, how deep are you?
Ocean wide, how old?
Could I but wander, wander through
Your blue depths, silent–cold!
Old Ocean, your sheer, satin gown,
Is good and fair to see:
Those that with battered wrecks go down,
In it shall folded be.
Then give me, Ocean, restless strength
To travel o’er you far,
To know your reach and sinuous length,
Till towering mountains bar.
4. At Mid ocean
by Robert Bly
All day I loved you in a fever holding on to the tail of the horse.
I overflowed whenever I reached out to touch you.
My hand moved over your body covered
With its dress
Burning rough an animal’s hand or foot moving over leaves.
The rainstorm retires clouds open sunlight
sliding over ocean water a thousand miles from land.
5. Waves
by Anonymous
The sea is still today
It’s cerulean blue and gold
I think of the thoughts it carries
Within its hidden folds.
Its touch is soft and gentle
It soothes the ache of years
But I wonder how many waves
Are made from fallen tears.
6. Océan
by William
The Ocean covers three-quarters of the Earth
Our mother – the place of our birth
But our thirst we cannot quench
Down in the Mariana Trench
Down where the pressure is crushing
Down where the creatures are rushing
Their beacons in the blackness for all to see.
The wide dark land for me!
7. Ocean Prints
by Joyanne O’Donnell
Twirling, swirling
castle sands
silent blasts
of lady lands
white powder
tan powder
blistering clam
chowder
crab catches
glittering pearls
capturing views
to brothers
water throws
sheets over.
8. Agony of waves
by Subimal Sinha-Roy
Ocean roars sound pitch soars
Seems under water tiger snore
Waves heave mouth leaks froth
Their agony tides bring forth.
Beach soaks bland brine booze
Sands dance surge above blues
Their faces clasp cloud color
Angry rains’ brush would clear.
Along shore trees stand erect
South winds shake their crest
Cloud flies hears trees laugh
While ocean faces times rough.
Classic Ocean Poems
There’s no disputing that contemplating and fantasizing about the ocean offers us joy and tranquilly, and genuinely calms our spirit. In moments of stress, we look to the ocean for wise words delivered in the form of poetry. Here are some classic ocean poems for you.
1. Ocean – Mysterious Mistress
by Laura J Sanders
I would be enthralled at the stories the ocean could tell,
about explorers and adventurers that traversed its swell,
of the lives lost in shipwrecks and of pirate tales of old,
and legends passed down through generations, told.
The ocean is mysterious, enchanting us all,
and contains many strange creatures both large and small,
a vast body of water, we challenge with our might,
sail our boats across, battle it by day and by night.
It changes character, furious brooding one minute,
next it is calm and serene, then we can overcome and win it!
But when I see its rolling, crashing waves,
I am glad I am on terra firma, as it’s stability I crave!
2. Dover Beach
by Matthew Arnold
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
3. Any Fool Can Get Into an Ocean
by Jack Spicer
Any fool can get into an ocean
But it takes a Goddess
To get out of one.
What’s true of oceans is true, of course,
Of labyrinths and poems. When you start swimming
Through riptide of rhythms and the metaphor’s seaweed
You need to be a good swimmer or a born Goddess
To get back out of them
Look at the sea otters bobbing wildly
Out in the middle of the poem
They look so eager and peaceful playing out there where the
water hardly moves
You might get out through all the waves and rocks
Into the middle of the poem to touch them
But when you’ve tried the blessed water long
Enough to want to start backward
That’s when the fun starts
Unless you’re a poet or an otter or something supernatural
You’ll drown, dear. You’ll drown
Any Greek can get you into a labyrinth
But it takes a hero to get out of one
What’s true of labyrinths is true of course
Of love and memory. When you start remembering.
4. The Pacific
by Martha Lavinia Hoffman
Beautiful Pacific! Queen of every ocean!
Grasping earth’s proud continents in thine outstretched arms,
Loud thy royal music-bands, in their deep commotion,
Swell their notes of harmony, to praise thy queenly charms.
Where thy train of purple sweeps the far horizon
Fringed with sunset-amber, sprinkled o’er with gold,
Where the Orient rainbow doth thy crown emblazon,
Monarchs awed before thee, do thy power behold.
Tread’st there another where thy jewels brighten
All thy mystic palace with its secret crypts?
Readest there another, the strange history written
In whose well of knowledge, science vainly dips?
With their snowy turbans sparkling in the glamour
Of the golden sunshine, surge the orchestra;
But though for thy captives, nations vainly clamor,
Deep and mighty music drowns thy mystery;
Thou hast hid thy captives in the deep recesses
Where no footfall echoes, but thy regal tread;
Where the sailor’s pallid form his couch of sea-weed presses
And the rash explorer makes his lowly bed;
There the strong ship’s anchor, wound in tangled cables
Rusts amid her ruin, in darkness and debris,
Where the ghastly skeleton mocks the idle fables
Sung in playful measure by the blue waves of the bay.
Queen of every ocean, beautiful Pacific!
Every sportive wave of thine is armed a cruel foe,
Terrible in anger, in kindly mood seraphic,
Store-house of prosperity and charnel-house of woe.
Nature’s mighty forces crowned thy jeweled tresses,
With a grandeur crown than ever mortal monarch wore,
Thou who spite thy ravage, each country more than blesses
Where thy dark blue breakers beat against the shore.
5. Sea Fever
by John Masefield
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
6. Pacific
by Callum
Crystal clear waves dance on the surface
Crashing and tumbling as they go.
Falling upon the shore,
And moving to and fro.
Beneath the shifting landscape
A storm is brewing,
A bountiful home for life,
A system self-renewing.
In the Abyss
Rests a memory of innovation.
A gentle giant gone amiss,
A reclaimed salvation.
This place of elegance,
Is also a place of power,
Moving millions of tons
In a fraction of an hour.
Grinding away at the cliff,
Stealing the rock and sand.
Crash and smash, swish and swirl,
Whisking away the land.
How alluring is the sea,
With all its quirky features.
It’s nature’s tidal dance,
And a home for many creatures.
The ocean’s beauty,
Now returns to the deep
Where it lives and it thrives,
And can finally sleep.
7. Ocean Secrets
by Carlotta McKnight
Ahhhhhhhhh, the breeze was so gentle and the sun so warm
Yet, there was a roar from the ocean filling the air
Waves lapping at the shore one by one
Each one rising and rising with such a flair
.
It seemed I could see beyond the horizon
Imagining all that could be or ever was
I wanted to share it with all I loved
I stood there taking in all that I could
Feeling like a freed captive bird from a cage
I spilled my thoughts and then ,my soul
Releasing my secrets and inner soul to the gentle breeze
To be delivered to the waves, washed, cleansed , and set free
Freely I gave to the sea my raging storm
That had consumed my soul for so long
For a brief moment I held my breath
Hoping time could stand still as it was right then
A moment in time filled with peace, comfort, and warmth
As I walked, I felt the gentle breeze following me along the shore
As I bent to pick up grains of sand
I felt the breeze whisking them from my hand
Just as quickly as the sifting sand fell
And was carried back to the ocean floor
My time here at the ocean was coming to an end
.
And I would leave, leaving behind a part of me
That would forever remain a part of the mighty sea.
8. Old Ocean
by William Wendell Riley
I stood upon our western shore
And heard the ocean’s billows roar,
And saw them toss and tumble o’er
Each other in their glee;
And fret and foam and froth and dash,
Right on, and on, as if they’d smash
The rugged rocks, and play and splash–
These children of the sea!
They now advance, roll and recede,
They fall and rise and rush with speed;
Like humankind, each wants to lead
His fellows in the fray:
They sparkle in the morning light,
They shine like diamonds in the night,
THey gleam and glint like jewels bright,
And hurl their silvered spray.
Old Ocean’s caverns depths and dells
Hold mysteries she never tells;
And o’er her dead, she heaves and swells,
Throughout unending years.
The ship that sailed came back no more,
It foundered on some distant shore
And human hearts now sad and sore
Still weep life’s bitter tears!
“Just one more voyage,” a husband said,
“Another voyage,” a lover plead,
They sailed away; and for their dead
A wife and maiden weep.
The fleets of ships from every land,
The nations’ navies, nobly manned,
Are strewn with crews on every strand.
O the graveyards of the dead!
Beautiful Ocean Poems
Do you yearn for the sea? If you literally cannot wait for your next beach vacation or sailing excursion across the ocean, read these poems about the beautiful ocean.
The ocean’s waters are riddled with mysteries that have yet to be solved. You’ll discover some of them if you go through these beautiful ocean poems.
1. The Ocean
by Isaac H
It roars like a lion,
Yet so calm and sincere,
Like a refined diamond.
Much beauty lurks here.
It’s in the ocean you find true beauty,
Where worlds hide in the deep.
The ocean is where you find mystery,
Where things live, die, and sleep.
The ocean is where you go to ponder.
It relaxes the mind, body, and soul.
In the ocean I often wander.
It helps me focus on my goal.
2. The Cup of Ocean
by Amos Russel Wells
What does the cup of ocean hold?
Glory of purple and glint of gold;
Tenderest greens and heavenly blue,
Shot with the sunlight through and through;
Wayward ripples that idly roam.
Tumbling breakers with gallant foam;
Sands and pebbles that chase and slide;
Mystic currents that softly glide;
Mighty spell of the ages old,
This does the cup of ocean hold.
What does the cup of ocean hear
To the lips of land folk everywhere?
Danger’s ominous, ghostly breath,
Battered forms of an awful death;
Howling tempests and bitter sleet,
Crash of the sea steeds’ terrible feet;
Ships a-quiver with fearful shock,
Anguish heaped on a savage rock;
Loss and turmoil and fatal snare,
This does the cup of ocean bear.
Look ye well to the ocean’s cup,
Ye who gladly on beauty sup.
Tarry long at the treacherous brink,
Gaze within e’er ye bend and drink.
3. The Ocean from a Dolphin’s View
by Kaushika
As I dived underwater I came to a halt,
What I saw, wasn’t just water with salt,
What I was viewing was spectacular scenery,
Colourful corals and amazing anemones,
As I moved further along, a colossal fish,
Seemed to be having krill as his dish,
But the creature I saw was a mammal, like me,
A whale that weighed tons, I know you’d agree
Colourful fishes, in all shapes and sizes,
Wherever I looked was a sea of surprises,
From purple to blue and orange to green,
Some large, slow but agile, or miniscule, lean,
Other sea creatures I found in that spot
Were clown fish inside their anemone cot,
Unlike sea grasses, all corals are animals,
Who would have thought …
Elegant and admirable!
Like what Mr Columbus has once said
“The sea will grant each man new hope,
and sleep will bring the dreams of home.’’
This gorgeous place is home to me.
I swam back to my dolphin family.
4. The Beautiful Ocean, The Beautiful Sea
by Anonymous
The Ocean, the ocean is simply a wonder
With all the mysteries beneath it
Animals, plants, and others are just under
In the depths of the ocean that are not lit
Tidal waves creep up at night
And in the ocean there is no light
In the daytime, the sun warms up the sea
And it is as beautiful as it can be
The ocean is part of the wonderful nature
And it just can
t get any better
The ocean is part of the world around us
And it includes the deep blue sea!
5. Seascape (Marine)
by Arthur Rimbaud
Chariots of copper and of silver–
Prows of silver and steel–
Thresh upon the foam,–
Upheavals the stumps and brambles.
The currents of the heath,
And the enormous ruts of the ebb,
Flow circularly toward the east,
Toward the pillars of the forest,–
Toward the boles of the jetty,
Against whose edge whirlwinds of light collide.
6. My Blue World
by Lanna M
I know a place where the world is still,
where time and space have no hold.
I know a place where my heart and soul are one
and there are stories left untold.
I know a place where I rest in peace,
where my body lies numbed to pain,
where my eyes lie opened to the light above
and I’ve broken gravity’s chain.
I know a place
Where I must leave as seconds pass.
My frail mortality cannot stand against its grave,
and my lungs shatter like glass.
I know a place so wonderful and deadly.
It pulls me into deep.
Oh, my deep blue ocean world.
I’ll return to you after the surface pulls you from me.
7. A Beautiful Night at The Magical Sea
by Ariel A.
A beautiful night at the Magical Sea.
Wild and silver waves,
smashing into stiff gray
boulders.
Perfect glittery water.
So powerful and warm
like the sun.
So gorgeous.
The sea is a portrait.
Shimmering and glittering
diamonds!
So calm like the bright
crescent moon rising.
Moonlight sparkles on the
water. Gentle as a baby’s skin.
Precious green sea weed.
On the shore lies
coral, full of
marvelous and perfectly
round pearls.
The sea water,
Stops its soft and soothing waves
and slowly falls
asleep…
Ah,
What a beautiful night,
at the Magical Sea
8. Beauty and The Beach
by Faith Elizabeth Brigham
There is something about the ocean
That brings out the earth-mother in me
It is a place i love to go to write or
To ponder life’s mysteries
Being out in the ocean with
The waves spraying over me
Feels something of a baptism
A cleansing of my soul’s debris
The beach has a magnificent beauty
That never ceases to amaze me
And makes me feel one with the earth
In rhythm and harmony
I realize as I look out to sea
How very small I really must be
In the overall scheme of things
I love the sea for it brings
Out the spirituality in me
The feeling of being totally free
Like seagulls overhead and
The sand underneath my feet
Or the engulfing sun warming me
To get down to the nitty-gritty
The sea is a poet’s paradise to me
Simple Ocean Poems
The ocean’s grandeur and beauty are breathtaking. From scientists and chemists to explorers and mariners, the ocean and its complete ecology captivate, enthrall, and delight multitudes of people all over the world.
Ocean has also found its place in several poems as well. Here are some of those simple ocean poems.
1. The Ocean
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet, and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.
Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves.
2. By the Sea
by Emily Dickinson
I started early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me,
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt,
And past my bodice too,
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion’s sleeve —
And then I started too.
And he — he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, — then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.
Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.
3. Song of the sea
by Rainer Maria Rilke
Timeless sea breezes,
sea-wind of the night:
you come for no one;
if someone should wake,
he must be prepared
how to survive you.
Timeless sea breezes,
that for aeons have
blown ancient rocks,
you are purest space
coming from afar…
Oh, how a fruit-bearing
fig tree feels your coming
high up in the moonlight.
4. To Cruel Ocean
by Victor Hugo
Where are the hapless shipmen? —disappeared,
Gone down, where witness none, save Night, hath been,
Ye deep, deep waves, of kneeling mothers feared,
What dismal tales know ye of things unseen?
Tales that ye tell your whispering selves between
The while in clouds to the flood-tide ye pour;
And this it is that gives you, as I ween,
Those mournful voices, mournful evermore,
When ye come in at eve to us who dwell on shore.
5. The Mysterious Ocean
by Zakaria
The mysterious ocean
reminds me of a blue potion.
Beneath, lurks lots of creatures
with exquisite and unique features,
Above the surface we see crashing waves
that create salty foam which slowly fades.
The lower we go, the more curious we grow
to learn what really lurks deep down below.
No longer a bright blue potion,
but now a very dark ocean!
6. The Waves
by Burt Kimmelman
When you told me, “I’m dying – it’s
all right,” I dreamt I was treading
water in the ocean, no land
in sight, and a great ship, its sails
jutting into the night sky, was
making its slow way toward the far
horizon. The world of the dead
must be like that realm where dreams hold
the living, where we come and go,
breathing stars. If I could rouse you
from that place I would tell you how
I swam, swam to shore, exhausted,
where I hear your voice in the waves.
7. First Time at the Ocean
by Nina D. Harris
The sea comes in wave on wave
Breaking hard upon the rocks
Waters rushing in retreat
To then come crashing back
A splash upon my fingertips
This chance not to waste
Just to know is it salty?
It seems silly-yet I taste
Fog Thick along the Shoreline
Moisture hanging in the air
Of all the wondrous things
To find the ocean smells like sardines.
8. Ocean Waves
by Anna
Waves are floating free
in the big dark sea.
Sharks are looking for their prey
and fish are swimming away.
Dolphins are having fun with the waves
and making lots of shapes.
The Sun is rising fast
and the kids are having a blast.
Deep Ocean Poems
The oceans always give you a sense of being alive. It is a treatment that purifies you bodily, mentally, and emotionally. Many deep short ocean poems throw emphasis on the truth that the ocean aids in the restoration of a person’s physiological, intellectual, and emotional well-being.
1. Deep Sea
by Axton Clark
Like liquid agate rest the bottoms of the sea,
Like caves pressed down by the unending hammerstroke
Of waves struck green with sun; and deep set creatures here
Are bubbles left as moving coils in agate, and dart
As ribbons cut in light, or fork electric eyes,
Waving them brightly tentacled, like drowning stars
Writhing in last extinctions of their glow.
In some such agate, slipping studded green, our thoughts
Are deepest, winnowing like strange fish the wheaty grains
Of light self-lighted from the husks of dark.
2. Haunted Seas
by Cale Young Rice
A gleaming glassy ocean
Under a sky of grey;
A tide that dreams of motion,
Or moves, as the dead may;
A bird that dips and wavers
Over lone waters round,
Then with a cry that quavers
Is gone—a spectral sound.
The brown sad sea-weed drifting
Far from the land, and lost;
The faint warm fog unlifting,
The derelict long tossed,
But now at rest—though haunted
By the death-scenting shark,
Whose prey no more undaunted
Slips from it, spent and stark.
3. Down in the Deep, Deep Sea
by William Force Stead
Many a garden and blossom rare
There needs must be,
And many a long white winding stair,
Leading away to those gardens fair,
Down,
Down,
Down in the deep, deep sea.
Quiet and peaceful those gardens are, —
They needs must be, —
Where the mermaid roaming may see afar
Through darkling waters the evening star,
Down,
Down,
Down in the deep, deep sea.
The mermen call with their bugle-shells, —
It needs must be, —
The sea-nymphs answer on fond faint bells:
How the music wavers and dies and swells,
Down,
Down,
Down in the deep, deep sea.
4. Deep Blue
by Imogen
Deep and peaceful
the ocean laps against the sand
Blue fish and coral,
the waves meet the land.
Bright light on water
whirls through my head
I wish I was there
and not in bed.
5. Deep Ocean Blues
by Anonymous
In the depth
Of her lonely ocean blues
Neither lost nor found at sea,
She buried her dreams
Deeper than she could reach
And she made herself a humble home
Tucked underneath the ocean floor
She found the familiar
In the darkness of the water
Like a magnificent storm
Blue almost black almost gone —
Hazy memories floating
Reminding her
Of what she could’ve been
Now crushed and washed away
The more time she spent there
The more she began to crave,
The weight of water
Crashing onto her skin
Vast dark space holding her close
Like her old dear friend
Did way back when
Loneliness
He welcomed her back
Every time she swam in —
He’d play her an old blues song
Deep muddy waters
Just for her
Melancholy fanfare
To keep her hypnotized
Mesmerized
By the sound of his ocean song,
She knew loneliness
And treacherous waters
Could always find her here
Dancing with solace
Right on the ocean floor
6. O great deep ocean
by Anonymous
O great deep ocean,
the lord entered into you,
mixed and churned you,
deprived you of your nectar.
That lord of illusion
entered into me too,
churned me,
deprived me of my essence.
Go to the serpent who is the lord’s couch,
tell him of my endless sorrow
that he may plead for me.
7. The Deep Blue Sea
by Anvita Kaur
The sea plays a tune,
Till out comes the moon.
Beasts, mermaids, fishes, whales
And the men who set up sails.
When the sky spells dawn,
The spirit of the sun is reborn.
With brightly coloured blues
And beautiful green hues.
From the sunny shallows to
The deep sea blue,
The whales that leap high
And the gulls that fly by.
All is lively
In the deep blue sea.
There are many noises we can’t hear,
Well, the sea isn’t mere.
8. Tell me, Deep Ocean
by Anonymous
Tell me, deep ocean, why not be still,
Why not this surging cease,
Why shouldst thou sing this mournful sound,
And why not hold thy peace?
Is it a tale of love you sing,
Tell me, oh mighty deep;
What some poor sailor bade thee bring,
Just as he sank to sleep?
If so, I yearn to know thy song,
Pray, make it known, oh wave;
I had a lover, brave and strong,
Who met a sailor’s grave.
I yearn to know his parting words,
Were they not told to thee?
If so, I pray thee make them known,
Pray tell, were they of me?
Love and Ocean Poems
Let us now look at some ocean love poems. When you sit by the ocean and stare out at the sea, you relax your thoughts and senses from sensory overload, enter a state of mindfulness, and are able to think more clearly about your loved ones. These poems about the ocean and love reiterate the same thing.
1. Salt
by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
O breath of wind and sea,
Bitter and clear,
Now my faint soul springs free,
Blown clean from fear!
O hard sweet strife, O sting
Of buffeting salt!
Doubt and despair take wing,
Failure, and fault.
I dread not wrath or wrong,—
Smile, and am free;
Strong while the winds are strong,
The rocks, the sea.
Heart of my heart, tho’ life
Front us with storm,
Love will outlast the strife,
More pure, more warm.
2. Nearness of the Beloved
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I think of you when sunlight on the ocean
Glimmers at noon;
I think of you when shimmers in the river
Mirror the moon.
I see you in the rise of dust that covers
The distant ridge,
In each deep midnight where the wanderer quivers
On the high bridge,
I hear you in the low and muffled rustle
Of rolling seas.
I often go to quiet groves and listen
To things at peace.
I am with you. However far you are,
I know you’re near!
Oh what I’d give, as sun gives way to star,
To have you here.
3. Pacific Ocean
by Chole Young
I wish I could swim the Pacific Ocean and back.
And when I came back to sit in front of a burning burning fire
Until it dried me to the bone.
And for my skeleton to be hung above your bed
To act as a catcher of your night terrors
And it would work
Because you would know that I was magical.
Because I swam the whole Pacific Ocean and back.
For you.
4. If You Are the Ocean…
by Johnette Loefgren
If you are the ocean, then I am the mist
which kisses the morning the way children kissed
their mother at breakfast to start a new day
If you are the ocean, then anchors aweigh
We’ll sail through the evening and on to the light
The daystar is dawning, we’ll keep to the right
like Peter and Wendy to Neverlands’ door
we’ll sail on forever and touch every shore
If you are the ocean, come wash me away
to some misty morning and there we will play
on beaches you’ve loved all your lovely life long
If you are the ocean, then sing me a song
of sailors and treasures and I’ll have to say
If you are the ocean, come wash me away..
5. Your love is like an ocean
by Elena Clair
Your love is like an ocean
It never ends
From the surface, it dazzles
It is wide, but calm
It reflects light and warmth
A frightening and exciting adventure
Which is ever-changing
Ever-constant
It is deep, filled with so many mysteries
Yet left for me to discover
It is eternal, from the day the world began
to the day it ends
Just like the ebb and flow
Of the waves
So let your waters inspire me, envelop me
Let me swim deeper into the depths
And learn to find your secret places
And on the day I have to leave this world
Let me drown, content and at peace
In the wonders of your incredible love
6. An Ocean of Love
by Lovelyn Layon
Have you ever sailed on vast ocean,
With no island to see, and things are out of reach?
With dreams and mysteries filled this ocean,
And a never ending faith that someone would teach?
Have you ever felt that feeling,
Of a deep calmness within you that’s hard to fight?
And no one could help you believing,
That you’re striving for the right?
Did you ever sailed on an ocean,
That further placed upon your heart?
For deeply below this ocean,
Lies a silent whisper, where love starts.
An ocean of Love, the ocean of dreams
Where you can find solace and exceptional truth
Though pain resides even if you don’t dream
As the existence of love bears its fruit.
The fruit of harmony, bliss, and wonder
Without the seed that’s buried down below
Like a pearl that lies down under
The ocean of love they call, starts hello.
Upon this vast ocean, two souls were me and you
Over the waves and across the surface
I have found a love so true
The ocean of love was then the wondrous place.
7. Love…Deeper than the oceans blue
by Anonymous
A wonderful life we are building together,
A fortress around us to protect us forever…
I’ve loved you deeper than any ocean,
Since the day our love was set in motion…
And as the sands of time slowly fade,
I swear to you my love will remain…
Occasionally the waves come crashing down,
But in the calm are beautiful sounds…
Words of truth and love for each other,
Promising we’ll never leave for another…
Don’t be afraid to let your feelings show,
It will only help our relationship grow…
At times our lives get complicated,
Inside somewhere we feel so frustrated…
But we can’t all it to interfere with US,
In our true love we have to trust…
Always remember we’re in it for life,
For you are my husband and I am your wife!
8. The Ocean of Love
by Karen Gorringe
She stands by the ocean – hands by her sides,
watching the coming and going of tides;
watching the gulls as they hover above,
watching a man hold the hand of his love.
Watching the yachts as they head to the shore,
she longs to not be alone any more.
She takes off her socks and she takes off her shoes;
she takes a deep breath and she stares at the moon.
Then, from the corner of her eye, he catches her sight;
she picks up her things and walks into the night.
Yes, it’s him that she sees with his hands by his side,
watching the coming and going of tides.
In so many dreams she’d seen that very face,
in all of her dreams, standing in that very place.
She walks over to him, and they stand hand in hand;
For that moment alone in the soft, cold, white sand,
He says, “I knew you’d be here.” She says, “I knew you’d come.”
Then they stand there in silence and wait for the sun.
Now neither are alone and no more being afraid,
For tonight by the ocean true love may be made.
Some people walk the beach when they want to be alone,
Some search for seashells and others for stones.
Some look for comfort and for a hand to hold,
Like this man and this woman; it’s worth more than gold.
So, if at night you walk alone, along the sandy shore,
May a new love take you by the hand and lead you to love’s door.
Ocean Poems for Kids
The oceans are the heart of our globe and all of its inhabitants. They encompass roughly three-quarters of the planet and contain 97 percent of the world’s water. If you want your kids to learn more facts about oceans, share these ocean poems for kids with them.
1. Ocean Mightier than the Land
by Annette Wynne
Ocean, mightier than the land,
Wilful, turbulent, and wild,
Will you love a little child
And kiss her hand?
Ocean, when I play with you,
The pretty waves are soft and blue,
But sailors who have sailed away
Tell you do not always play.
Far off you toss the great big ships
Just like tiny wooden chips;
Tell me, for I want to know
Why you act just so?
Ocean mightier than the land,
Wilful, boisterous and wild—
Will you love a little child
And kiss her hand?
2. Ocean Waters
by Anonymous
Ocean waters side to side,
Creepy crawlers swim with the tide,
East to west far and wide,
An ocean water is by your side,
Near the water humains lay.
Waiting patiently through the day,
Another turtle swim to shore,
Together they swim on the ocean floor,
Endless fun with my friend,
Running fast to the end,
So many ways to play on a summer day.
3. The Ocean Home
by Anonymous
Squid and lobster, giant wholes,
Jellyfish, seahorses and fish with tails.
Sharks and walruses, oysters with pearls,
Cuttlefish and octopuses- see them twirl
Crabs and sea snakes, electric eels,
Dolphins, orcas and clapping seals.
Mussels, swordfish, turtles in shells
Starfish and clams hide in ocean swells.
All make their home in the depths below.
Dark and mysterious there’s lots we don’t know.
So let’s learn together, you and me,
About the creatures under the sea!
4. Ocean
by Anonymous
Take me out to the ocean
Take me out to the sea
Show me the foamy waves rolling there
As I breathe in the salty air!
Let me look, look, look at the ocean
See the sea and explore
For it’s fun to dive from the top
To the ocean floor!
5. Deep Blue Sea
by Anonymous
I took a dive into the deep blue sea.
So many creatures swam past me!
A father seahorse, taking care of his young
A humpback whole, a lovely song he sung
A playful dolphin, frolicking about,
A wise old sea turtle had his head poked out.
Then a shark came by with his teeth so white.
I swam so fast until he was out of sight!
6. The Ocean
by Anonymous
I hear the ocean, I hear the ocean
at the beach, at the beach
Crashing splashing foaming!
Crashing splashing foaming!
at the beach, at the beach.
I see sea gulls, I see sea gulls
at the beach, at the beach.
Flying diving, fishing
Flying, diving, fishing
at the beach, at the beach.
Children laughing. Children laughing
at the beach, at the beach
Jumping, swimming, building
Jumping, swimming, building
at the beach, at the beach
7. I Went Swimming in the Ocean
by Anonymous
I went swimming in the ocean
on a summer day.
I went swimming in the ocean
and kicked, and splashed and played
After lunch we looked for seashells
I Found three or four.
You can hold one up to your ear
and hear the ocean roar.
Hear the ocean roar
Hear the ocean roar
You can hear the ocean roar, roar, roar.
Hear the ocean roar! Hear the ocean roar.
Hear the ocean roar, roar, roar!
8. The Ocean
by Anonymous
As I look from the edge of the ocean,
Glimmering golden, for it’s almost dawn,
So many waves coming towards me,
And yet I know, there’s a lot more going on.
The ocean stretches for miles around,
So many creatures with fins and gills,
So many miles below the ground.
The waves are splashing closer and closer,
As I realise the world is bigger than it seems,
As I stare into the ocean,
In golden light, it gleams.
9. Deep Sea Dance
by Kenn Nesbitt
Down on the ocean floor,
Deep in the sea,
Everybody’s dancing.
Ready? ONE, TWO, THREE!
Barracuda boogies
With the octopus and eel.
Sea horse does a square dance
With the salmon and the seal.
Jiggle goes the jellyfish.
Shimmy goes the snake.
Lobster leans and limboes
while the sea snail shakes.
Everybody’s dancing in the
deep, deep dark.
But run away! Run away!
Here comes the shark!
Where did everybody go?
He heard the music play.
He must have missed the party.
They must have gone away.
Shark is all alone upon
This underwater shelf.
That’s alright! Shark is happy
Dancing by himself.
Shark begins to shuffle.
Shark begins to spin.
He flutters with his flipper
And he wiggles with his fin.
He doesn’t look so scary.
He wants to party too!
So barracuda joins him
for a bouncy bugaloo.
Jellyfish then joins in.
So do octopus and eel.
Snake returns to shimmy
With the sea horse and the seal.
Everybody’s dancing
From the salmon to the snail.
But run away! Run away!
Here comes killer whale!
Ocean Poems in English
Let us now go through some poems on ocean in English. These poems about the sea remind us that oceans have an impact on our lives and livelihoods of our loved ones, no matter how far off the beach we reside.
1. The Ocean
by Isaac McLellan
Morn on the Summer Sea–the breaking light
Is trembling on the mountain’s misty height,
And upland lea–and on the distant glen–
And o’er the waters–far from haunts of men.
How faint and sweet from yonder secret dell,
Swells o’er the wave the early village bell,
Borne with the sounds of tinkling herds–and hark!
O’er the blue hills, the music of the lark
Rings clearly from the silver clouds that rest,
Like a bright Crown, above the mountain-crest.
O! green and happy land! whose headlands grey,
Are, in the distance, melting fast away;
Ye peaceful vales–the wanderer’s own sweet home,
And ye old woods!–farewell.–The curling foam–
The boundless sea, with all its host of waves,
May dash ere evening o’er our lonely graves.
Thou dark, unfathomed Ocean! in thy halls
No searching glance of kindly sunlight falls–
Far through thy azure depths the sea-snakes sweep,
And the huge Krakens haunt thee–stormy deep!
Yet hast thou wealth of glorious things, far down
Thy hidden palaces–jewels and crown,
And the reich spoils of many a shattered bark,
Lie with thy Sea-Stars and the ocean shark;
And from thy many-twinkling sands, bright gems
Shine like the pearls in kingly diadems.
The broad Sea-Fag lies there–and tufts of green,
Oft through thy glassy depths are dimly seen;
And the Sea-Grape and yellow Fan o’erspread
Thy pathless empire–and the Coral’s red
Glows mid thy snowy pebbles and rich sand,
And scarlet Shells that glisten o’er the strand.
–Sea! thou art full of life! things swift and strange
Through thy mysterious tides, half shapeless, range.
Noon on the flashing billows. All the day
We have gone lightly on our foaming way;
And the glad sun a tranquil smile hath sent
From his bright throne in yonder firmament.
Far on our lee, the giant Whales upturn
The boisterous water from the sea’s full urn;
The storm-drenched Petrel curbs his tired wing,
To view awhile our rapid wandering–
And the blue Halcyon bends his gentle eye
On the strong ship that flies so gaily by–
The purple Mullets through our pathway sweep,
And the blue Dolphins in our white track leap.
O! boundless Sea! with thy upheaving surge,
Whitened with foam-wreaths to thy glorious verge;
With thy strong tides–thy multitude of waves–
And the wild voices of thy thousand caves–
And thy stern rage when tempests madden thee!
Fearful thou ever art, Eternal Sea!
2. The Picnic by the Ocean
by Grace Cavalieri
The Octopus offers me one of his three hearts,
briar and holly for friendship the second and third
saved for times of longing, times of loss.
A strange romance, I admit—
Friends would never approve or believe,
yet he was untouched by human hands.
How can we say this is not a source of wonder—
“Who will sing my song, if not you?” he asked.
“Who will dream of me, as I lay under the stillness of water?”
Even an Octopus can be eloquent, and then again,
as we know, enormous need can become power.
What am I supposed to do now?
I stand by the water,
my woolen dress unraveling in the waves.
3. Numinous
by Yahia Lababidi
Where land and ocean greet
a living Mandala
a magic carpet
a sacred mosaic
Sands sprout small legs and sideways dance
shells intricately-wrought delicately glide by
fallen stars festoon water’s windswept gown
pebbles glisten, or glitter as precious stones
on a sublime neckline
Ocean surface a liquid sky
a great glass ceiling
to a fluid wonder world
world-within-world
Now, through a looking glass, gaze deeply
onto a strangely illumined, meditative existence
(where sound is swallowed whole)
a silent motion picture featuring
otherworldly cast of characters
of Infinite variety and beauty
Dramatic dreamscapes and fantastic gardens
living coral atop skeletons of past generations
palimpsest upon which ocean story is inscribed
coral bones to body of water
Communal castles of Life and Death
these reefs turn none away
home to a profusion of color-forms
exercises in poetic precision
or deliberate imagination.
4. In the Sea
by Christey Rapburn
If I’d been born a whale
No happier could I be
Swimming, splashing, spy hopping
Roaming the open sea
If I’d been born a lobster
No happier could I be
Crawling along the ocean floor
Living in the sea
If I’d been born a seahorse
No happier could I be
Swimming among the rocks and plants
At the bottom of the sea
But I was born a human and
No happier could I be
Because I can swim in the ocean
And see what’s in the sea
5. The stars go over the lonely ocean
by Anonymous
Unhappy about some far off things
That are not my affair, wandering
Along the coast and up the lean ridges,
I saw in the evening
The stars go over the lonely ocean,
And a black-maned wild boar
Plowing with his snout on Mal Paso Mountain.
The old monster snuffled, “Here are sweet roots,
Fat grubs, slick beetles and sprouted acorns.
The best nation in Europe has fallen,
And that is Finland,
But the stars go over the lonely ocean,”
The old black-bristled boar,
Tearing the sod on Mal Paso Mountain.
“The world’s in a bad way, my man,
And bound to be worse before it mends;
Better lie up in the mountain here
Four or five centuries,
While the stars go over the lonely ocean,”
Said the old father of wild pigs,
Plowing the fallow on Mal Paso Mountain.
“Keep clear of the dupes that talk democracy
And the dogs that talk revolution,
Drunk with talk, liars and believers.
I believe in my tusks.
Long live freedom and damn the ideologies,”
Said the gamey black-maned boar
Tusking the turf on Mal Paso Mountain.
6. Sailors Follow
by Daniel Cheeseman
Those stars that sailors follow
Guiding less the sea to swallow
And the night seas black as tar
Beyond the wave a land afar
Halyards taught, blocks in tallow
Breezes fresh and salt swallow
Timbers creak, white horses foam
Callused hands and oceans comb
And the stars pull them forth
South, east, west and north
Cabin boy or salty jack
Afore the mast, bare their back
Seas of glass or howling gales
Stands his watch whatever ails
For them the ocean a magic place
For every dawn a changing face
The face of his one true love
The wind, stars, skies above
7. A Walk by the sea
by Anonymous
I went for a walk
alone by the sea
but the water kept me company.
I whispered to it
as I walked on its sand
and told it of all the things I planned.
It whispered to me
as I walked on its shore
and told me secrets from long before.
I went for a walk
with my friend the sea
and we kept each other company.
Final Thoughts on Ocean Poems
Ocean poems that rhyme can encourage you to be more empathetic and connected. You are likely to encounter sensations of wonder when in the calm, meditative mood associated with connecting with water, which can boost your ability for connectedness and compassion.
We’ve gathered these ocean poems from a range of sources to help you open your head and soul to the wide unknown. Whether we are nervous and need to be peaceful, anxious and want to be cheerful, or sensitive and need to be reminded of your power, ideas of the ocean bring this into our heart and spirit.
If you appreciate the oceans and its water, I hope you enjoyed these ocean poems and got some encouragement. Let these magnificent poems about the ocean awaken your mind and soul to the immense unknown of the oceans, a realm of wonder and mysteries.
Thank you for creating a platform that promotes kindness, compassion, and personal growth.
Your blog has become a valuable resource in my personal growth journey.