My Maine This Week: A short story by Diana Washburn

Do You Hear Forever’s Sound?

Do you hear the ocean? A mass of uncomprehending depth, cascading white crested waves, swirling, seething, roaring, smashing, and quietly lapping, marching to the never-ending demands of the tides and Mother Nature. Azure blue, black, green, turquoise colors, changing at the whim of the weather. What creatures does it harbor in its murky deep? Fish, crabs, jellyfish, whales, and many beautiful sea creatures in shells.

Ah yes, the shells with their array of quirky residents. Wonder as you bring the shell to your ear. Do you hear forever’s sound? Think about that, what power! Eons of time stops for a fleeting moment while you hold one of Earth’s drumbeats in your hand. One wonders why the sound of the ocean is trapped in one small standard bearer you might stumble upon as your feet wander the wet sand. What is this gift of sound it gives us? Why? Is it but one more reminder of our mortality that our time spent on Earth is not endless.

Should we not also feel, see, touch, smell, and taste? What is this small shell telling us? Why shouldn’t all our senses reach out and gather in all we can of our world? The wonder is to stop and listen, take a moment. You will be the richer for it, and for having heard forever’s sound.

The End

— by NRCM member Diana Washburn of Falmouth, Maine