I love to take metaphors and ride them. Plato had his cave where people only saw shadows. In this poem I present the reader with seahorses who do not know about the light above.

A Seahorse Receiving Light, by Harry Kottler,

2008, 11”x14', gouache, acrylic, and collage on black paper

Seahorses

by Harry Kottler

We are like seahorses

Living in the sea.

We don't know what our course is

And we don't question what we see.

We think the world's an ocean,

An ocean made of air.

We see the fishes large and small,

And of some of them, we're scared.

If someone said, “There's light above,”

We wouldn't pause to think,

"How beautiful that place must be,”

Cause our world's dark as ink.

We seahorses should take notice:

There's really light above,

And we can bring it to our hearts

If we nourish inner love.

We nourish love through gladness.

We nourish love through prayer.

We nourish love through meditation

As we breathe in God's fresh air.

We nourish love through love and respect

Towards everyone we meet,

Whether they are sour

Or the sweetest of the sweet.

We nourish love by rocking

In the sweetness of just being.

We nourish love by detachment,

By being the one who is seeing.

We nourish love by positive attitudes

We have toward situations.

We seahorses can rock ourselves

Into supreme elation.

..................

With love and respect,

Harry and Helen