Sitting all alone, upon the rocks,
At the place where land meets sea.
The waves crash against the shoreline,
As if wanting to be free.

The constant roaring of the ocean,
So loud but peaceful still.
Cold wind coming off the water,
Bringing forth a bitter chill.

The sun dips into the water,
Where the ocean meets the sky.
The sky explodes with vivid colors,
As overhead the seagulls fly.

As I looked down along the shoreline,
A thought just crossed my mind.
That the ocean’s only pretty,
If it’s kept within the lines.

The shoreline is a boundary,
A line intended not to cross.
For at times the ocean does break free,
And so many suffer loss.

We have to go the extra mile,
Its boundaries to maintain.
For a mighty force such as the sea,
So needs to be contained.

Our lives are liken to the sea,
We have boundaries of our own.
Ours you see are merely rules,
The sea’s is solid stone.

How many lives been shattered,
By a boundary being crossed.
So many homes that have been broken,
So many lives that have been lost.

A lesson taught when we were children,
That we should follow for all time.
As in our picture books we colored,
“Try to stay within the lines”

Jack Roberts – January 5, 2003