Don’t go too far, my love,
my darling, watch the waves and the
pounding surf wash upon the sand,
whirling forth in a flurry of salt and sea and sun.
Don’t trust those white caps while you wander
forth into a wondrous world, they’ll cheat you.
Watch the tide, the rise, fall, pull of water
As you laugh, gleefully, in the face of it.
Don’t stay out too late, my hope,
my daughter, watch the boys who laugh,
and smile and dance and disappear like
sea mist on a sunny morning. Don’t let
yourself get caught, ensnared in their nets,
harpooned like a wild, exotic sea creature,
who chanced upon their boats.
Don’t forget this moment, my pride,
my joy, my sunrise over the horizon, rising
above as ever. Don’t rush by roses and flowers
like sailboats in the distance, colourful, quaint,
and entirely out of reach. Don’t miss out on laughter that
bubbles over like foam on sugar soft beaches, or
dreams that float on currents of moonlight and magic.
Don’t go too far, my heart, my comfort,
my ray of sun on windswept days, my summer
breeze, lightly pushing me onwards, across
oceans and seas and lakes and rivers. Don’t leave me,
my guide, my seashell path down a barren coast, my
wave of adventure who will wash over me, drag me under,
teach me of the ocean, the worlds in which I wander,
and wash away. Don’t go too far, my mother.