By Meerub Tariq
Originally published in The Synecouth Gazette
I have stood here for a century,
Humming the ocean’s endless riff.
I pass each day in a new reverie—
I’m a lighthouse on a rocky cliff.
The waves whisper me their arcana,
From mighty mountains of Montana,
To the endless heat of Savanna—
They call me The Watcher of Kaimana.
My coat has faded like a sailor’s tale,
Worn by the sea’s motherly embrace.
She shelters every kind that rides her gale
In arms of calm and salt-laced grace.
The waves of the sea have shifting moods,
As my worn windows have witnessed—
The ships and boats she soullessly excludes,
With thundering power, they are dismissed.
Her moods shape the course of my days,
She neither hates nor truly loves.
She moves the world in silent ways—
So I whispered to the rock doves.
I don’t fear her, I told the moon
Yet I shine to guide those
Who drift along the foggy gloom
And dread her chaotic blows
I am not her servant bound
I have my free will like the wind.
Of the majestic sea I’m ever found
She and I are forever twinned.
Meerub Tariq is a 12th-grade student, writer, and aerospace engineering enthusiast from Pakistan. Her work has appeared in various literary journals, and she has co-authored several anthologies. Outside of writing, she enjoys reading, skating, and playing the flute. She recently made a preliminary asteroid discovery as a NASA Citizen Scientist. Connect with her at meerubtariq.carrd.co and on Instagram @memeerub7
