"Believe in the Unbelievable..." - Natalie Nascenzi
It’s
been a long time since I saw you stand by the ocean. In a storm. And you turned
your face to the wind. The spray. The brine. Never flinching. Knowing that your
time was coming. Knowing that you loved to be by crashing waves more than
anything. You Teller of stories.You who believed
we were seagulls driving into the wind. Looking for giant squid.
Though what would a seagull do with a squid, I thought? You imagined a whale.
And one day, he appeared. Close to shore. You spoke to him and he waved back.
You
taught me the sky, the mist and the sea
all were one big canvas. You used to pretend to carve pictures in the fog, as
it lay thick on the shore. Like a magician you would turn it into cakes. We would
gather wet, smooth rocks , pile them into your pockets, till you could barely
walk. Then dump them out on the rocky sand and build towers, only to watch crested
waves bury our fortresses, as if they were sunken cathedrals.
Once you saw
hummingbirds nesting at our old cabin.
You said they were fairies from the old country. Come to live with us. We saw
swallows called up on the wind.
You would hold my hand in yours , as they soared above. You said I could do
anything. Anything.
I remember
how you told me the seas could sing through the power poles. We’d listen for
their song. Our ears against the salt
damaged wood. I was always afraid of termites crawling around in my ears. Then there
was the sound of humming , roaring, swooshing
, battling to be first. Scaring off the termites, in my mind. We tried each
time we came to the cabin. It only worked on stormy days.
It’s been a
long time since I’ve heard the call of the sea. Years later, I tried to listen
once more. Somehow, when I have tried to hear it, it has eluded me. Then in
that moment, I could hear it again. I thought of you.
Some days I wonder where you are, when I walk that
fallen place. It whispers my name, and I hear you, you Teller of Stories.
I can see you standing on the shore. By the ocean’s edge. On those
slippery logs. In the crackle of white surf, as it piles up like meringue on
pies.
It’s been a
long time, since I heard the story of how
I was once a mermaid and could swim in the sea with the fish. That was always strange…..how
in the world could I have been a mermaid, cause I was terrified of the ocean?
I did not like even putting my feet in
the water.
You told me
to have no fear. That I could do anything…..you often tried to hang me over the
water…. I would scream like a banshee as you swung me around.
You stood up
to the wind and let it pommel you. Even though you knew your time had come. We stood
together. Like pirates on our big, scary
ship, cannons to the right of us, cannons to the left. We always vanquished our foes. Even though it was just
the seaweed. Or the rocks.
After a while,
the storm raged a little less. We had won our battles. The
ocean calmed till it was grey, like the skies. We still listened at the power
pole. It hummed “ Lullay lullay lu lye…..”
Listen
for the angels to sing, you said one day.
Then I would know just where you are.You’re that
pirate on the high seas. You Teller of stories…..
Off
in the mist. Beyond the reef. Where the sky meets the horizon. I can see you. I
even dabble my feet in the ocean, just for you. It’s been a
long time…..but I still whisper your name .
Photographs 2022 In remembrance of my dad who passed away March 26, 1967 He was quite a Teller of Stories!
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