California Coastal Commission

The Shells

In the ocean you play
And in the sand you find shells.


Izna Khanna
Kindergarten, Santa Clara

The Red King of the Sea

Your eyes are like shiny black marbles.
Your claws are like sparkling silver scissors.
Your tail is like a ruby red fan.
You walk through the sea
Like the King of the Sand
and you pinch all the sharks
who try to eat you.
You strut on a sea full of golden sand,
then shine in the waves
like a garnet in a starry sky.


Alana Jacqueline
3rd grade, Ross

Ocean Sunrise

"I shine shine shine
The dark Waters.
I move like feathers
Soft and Soaring.
I light the brilliant fish.
I light the pink shells,
One by one as they
Line up in the sea."


April Macias
3rd grade, Ventura

The Ocean

The ocean's calm,
     waves lap against the shore,
         seagulls cry,
             playful dolphins splash around,
                 all is well


Rosie Tomin
3rd grade, Santa Rosa

Fish

Little fins
Paddle, bubbles
Rise. They
Go blub
Blub, blub.
They glide
On the
Light of
The sunshine. They
Soar in
The big blue
Flapping fins flail
With fright that
Someone is going to
Disappear tonight.


Jillian Bailey
3rd grade, Santa Rosa

Waves

The waves
rising, falling
beating against the rocks
white-colored froth on the ocean
fading


Esha Kulkarni
6th grade, Fremont

Silver in the Moonlight

Looking in the ocean on a dark still night,
I spy a slim silver body,
so elegant,
so bright.

I lean out to touch,
it quickly swims away,

It's a little grunion,
so tiny,
so gray.

I wonder where it swims to
on this dark, still night.

Making the water ripple
in the moon's light.


Zoe Yang
4th grade

The Tide

As the waves lap the golden sand
I feel at home right where I am
The clear blue water is a sight to see
When I'm here, I feel so free
This is what it feels to fly
I'm going to ride that tide to the sky.


Rachita Mehta
6th grade, Fremont

Deep Sea Dream

As the waves
thrashed wildly like a
butterfly struggling
in
a tangled net,
the tail of a
sleek dolphin
appeared on the horizon,
the line that
parts
the sea from sky.

From a distance,
the graceful
mammal's tail
thrust the body
into flight,
causing water
droplets from the
salt sea to dance and
leap
in the ice-cold wind.

The sun peeking
out of
the cotton-white clouds,
making dew look like
millions of
precious crystals,
just discovered
from a secretly hidden
cave.

As if magic,
the sea
transforms into a baby-blue,
gentler than a
feather
of a chick.

The calls
of chattering seabirds
slowly twist and
drift away,
making the noisiness
of birds
into
music of waves
as they speak
their magical
words.

The ocean
glimmers in the
beams
of sunlight,
like glitter dusted
on glass.

As beautiful it
might seem,
and real it could be,
I wake
to realize it was
just a
deep sea dream.


Emily Yao
4th grade, Palo Alto

The Person Within

You are a mother, the greatest of guides
Nurturing children on your sandy shores
Guiding them with your flowing tides
Treating each one as though it were yours

You are a teacher, a preacher of hymns
Providing the lessons of life in your waves
Entertaining those who play in your limbs
Giving us memories we'll take to our graves

You are a peacemaker, with whom time freezes
Bringing people together with your beautiful sights
Sending chaos away upon your light breezes
Inspiring people with your cool, quiet nights.


Lilly Blackburn
8th grade, Encinitas

The Seagull's Funeral

The body
So young
Eyes not seeing
Legs straight, wings sprawled

The killer
Experienced
Eyes perpetually hunting
Talons clenched, wings spread

The mourners
Shocked
Eyes tearful
Mouths quiet, noses sniffling

The coffin
Vast
Eyes shifting with the beach
Walls outstretched, cushion welcoming

The undertaker
Strong
Eyes impassive
Rugged waves fill the sandy grave.


Harry Barker-Fost
8th grade, San Rafael

Days' Never Ending Here

The sky slashed open, clouds
Ablaze in wondrous hue, stained
Pink, purple. The blue abyss
Raises its welcoming arms.
Calling the surfers
Calling the lovers
Calling the flaming sun with a flash of green.

We end here? No, they would say
The glowing monster, a wildly turning moon
When the glowing monster stirs
When the glowing monster rises
When the glowing monster sinks back to its home.

We end here? No, they would say
The blazing orb, a carefully growing sun
When the blazing orb is rejected
When the blazing orb is wildly thrown
When the blazing orb knifes across the sky.
The sky slashed open...


Nina Morch
7th grade, San Diego

What is the Ocean?

What is the Ocean?
A habitat?
A hobby?
A gallery?
It all depends on what you do.
It depends solely on you.

What is the ocean?
The ocean I dream of.
The vastness of water seems like a potion.
A potion for happiness,
A potion for love
If the world is a mess,
I go to the ocean.

I can be loved by the waves
or the coral and fish.
Beloved by these things
is my only wish.
To be at one with the wave,
or so they say,
this is a cliche little statement,
yet it is all that I crave.

So I ask you again,
What is the ocean?
Find out as soon as you can.
Because you never know,
how long do we have?
How long will the water
be great and bright?
Like a single lit house in
a world filled with dark.
Water is essential
to survival and the earth.
But there will be no other oceans.
There can be no rebirth.


Emma Desmond
7th grade, Coronado

The Ever-giving Sea

The sea, she is good to me.
When I have breathed the dust of
Land for too long, and can feel the black
Dust in my lungs;
And there is a weariness of the bones
That ache as I stand on the dusty ground
I go to the sea.

I step onto the sand
And make my way, step by step,
To her awaiting foamy kisses.
Softly, they wash my dusty hands and
Calloused feet
And the dustiness, the weariness, that once weighed me down
Float away
I am filled with the golden light
That glints off her amethyst waves;
I can breathe freely once again,
I can sing, I can dance!
No more dust in my lungs, no more wear in my bones
I am free to love;
To laugh;
To seize the sky!

I say that People are born from the dust;
That We are made and live on Land,
But our souls are connected to the sea,
And if the Sea is filled with love,
Then, We too, must be filled with love.
So I thank the sea,
Because her kisses heal
With their tender touch
And gives me the energy
To return once more to the dusty shores
And instead of dragging my feet along the rows of corn and steel
I can dance
And have my soul be free
Like the ever-giving sea.


Sophia Choi
12th grade, La Crescenta

Ethereal Beginnings

Let there be glimpses as there is brevity in waves.

First glimpse. Stop.
A seagull perching atop palm trees
searches for its mate or at least
a truffle of nourishment.

Second glimpse. Stop.
That line that never falters
is keeping earth and sky from fighting.

Final glimpse. Stop.
I find my skin folding
as the rest of me is submerged.


Elena Dypiangco
11th grade, Hacienda Heights

The High Water Mark

As the surface drains away
The colorful job of your vitality
Your song lingers nevertheless

In seaweed bubbles
That entangle your notes

In sinuous schools of fish
That reverberate in your reverie

In coolheaded clams aloft
Whose pearls carry the lyrics to your melody

If only the sky could witness your orchestra
Of divergent ecosystems abroad
That foster the growth of your decadent tune
And whisk it away
Onto your canvas
That is
The ocean blue


Alexander Bologna
11th grade, Rancho Palos Verdes

Pacifist Pacific

I let the ocean bring me down
It's something special,
How it rolls me, folds me,
Distinguishes my enlightenment,
Redirects my mood,
Rewinds my thin existence and I notice it's always been my ocean
Our ocean.
I see my life take place beneath the big sky
And I am content by the ocean.
The breeze will take my boredom with it and leave me an open sense of comfort.
It's always been that ocean.
I take it lightly how the sand is such a comparison.
The sand be overlooked, belittled.
Just as most of us have.
I find the tiny particles beautiful and symbolic.
So many particles of sand, too many to count.
We are just as well the sand, in the overarching twist of the universe.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
I take an open comfort letting the sand support me.
But here I am on the rim of adulthood,
I am ready now to leave this city,
Travel through the states and meet my many offerings.
But I have widely promised myself I will always return to my ocean.


Anthony Michael Masino
12th grade, Hermosa Beach