117: Pity the Fools Who Do Not Love

They say the sailor loves the sea, and I do not doubt it. For I have heard him exalt the waves in passion, heard him paint the blues and greys like gold and silver, heard him decry those land-tied creatures that dare not set their feet on the tilting deck for fear of drowning. How can we live our lives to the fullest if we always believe that there will be a tomorrow? he cries. Pity the fools! And in the night, when all the land-tied creatures have gone to bed, he sits on the upper deck of his ship and gazes out towards the open sea, in his heart revealing to it all the secrets the land-tied creatures never would have understood. In return, the sea rocks his ship, sending him to his own warm sleep with a serenade more endearing than a thousand harps and flutes: the gentle serenade of love.