The sea and the mother

Once upon a time the sea was as still as a lake
Once upon a time there was a girl,
the mother,
who walked all day and spread life wherever she went
one day she stepped onto the sand
and began her walk
and the sea was struck by her beauty
he pushed and wiggled until he began to move slowly up the sand
and he crawled closer to her, reaching, reaching.

They spent all day teasing and flirting
her walk became a dance,
running away from the edge of the water
as he reached to touch her with his waves
and running back to cool her feet in the water
as he slid back to catch his breath before trying again.
The water danced around her feet, her legs,
and she laughed
He washed up treasures on the shore for her to pick up,
and she gave him sun and animals big and small
to explore his depths,
and so the shore went
all around the world
back to where they started

Finally she turned to him with a smile
and said, “My heart has been claimed by the ocean.”
At those words he began to try even harder to claim her
and pull her in to embrace her
the water tugged at her legs,
splashed against her,
and she sighed.
“But you are too greedy and selfish. You would claim me as your own and never let me go.
I have work to do, and I must go.”
So with a heavy heart she stepped back up on land
and walked her walk away

The sea missed his lover
he is still reaching for her to this day.