Another musing.

A note about the sea.

“The sea is a cradle of mystery.” So begins the prose set to a haunting melody in Pouraka’s book trailer. “Entities shielding one another, caring for one another, so that those things which are sacred are not violated by strangers.”

Mankind’s science has unraveled obscurities in our world, traveling through outer space as easily as he explores molecules. Yet the ocean remains vague, a pounding mass whose greatness has been unexplored in comparison.

Creatures similar to the human species, mammals that give birth to young and grow hair, live in the deepest abyss of the sea. Yet we treat them as strangers, aliens that we know little about and in many respects, treat as lesser than ourselves. Abuse even.

They congregate as colonies, in schools and pods caring for one another, defending each other. Studies show that they speak to each other and surely in the case of spinner dolphins, they dance with each other. Their delight is in freedom and I can’t help but wonder if the very essences of their being intimidates mankind.

It is perhaps a good thing that we know so little about the ocean and its inhabitants. It seems that whatever man explores he feels a need to conquer and often in his conquest, he destroys. Perhaps that’s the vampire in him. The blood sucking instinct that seeks to drain the life out of his prey, hoping that somehow it will make him stronger, mightier.

If mermaids and mermen did live in the deepest waters, what would they think about men? Having lived side by side with dolphins, orcas, gray whales, and the multitude of species that call the reefs their home, the currents their roads, the ocean floor their cradle, how would they view the intrusion of humans?

I grew up by the Pacific Ocean. I’m certain that when one falls in love with the sea, it will always beckon you no matter how far from a body of water you live. I think that when you breathe that salty air in long enough it becomes a part of you. I well understand the sailors’ dilemma. How a man can spend months on a creaky boat bouncing on swells that rise well overhead, suffering through the blast of a storm or enduring days of blazing heat with nothing but water to mirror the sun’s rays. Still they set out again and again because they had a taste in their mouth that was insatiable. It’s little wonder that in those endless days of sailing, stories of mermaids would take form. Half human, half sea creature. Indeed. A link between two worlds.

Such is the story of Pouraka. Pouraka is not only a romance that accentuates the natural and unyielding love sea mammals have for one another, but it also speaks of the everlasting battle between the meek and the strong, the powerful and the powerless. As one reviewer stated,

“We poor, landlocked humans are inclined to think of mermaids – and mermen, of course – as living a wild and free existence in the oceans of the world, having the occasional dolphin sidekick with whom they pass the time of day and are happy and joyous 24 x 7. The world which Dianne Gardner has created for this story is far different than the one of our imaginations. It is a world where merfolk are a hunted species under constant encroachment by humans, tourists, and oil rigs. The ocean waters that border the land are rapidly becoming an inhospitable place to abide, evocative of the book of Amos, 7:17. “ . . . your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you shall die in a polluted land . . . “ Their dire situation invites the reader to apologize for being human.”

Such circumstances that befall the mysterious world of the ocean need reconciling. The powerful need to relent. It is my hope that Pouraka will initiate a pause and a thought of kindness for those meeker than ourselves. – See more at: http://www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/guest-blog-and-giveaway-with-dianne.html#sthash.mK8cY2ja.dpuf