WORLD OCEANS Month
Ocean and Memories

A celebration of our love and fondest
memories of the deep blue sea!

EDITOR S NOTE'This World Oceans Day, we decided to celebrate ourcollective love for the oceans by curating this zine, themed:
Oceans and Memories. With the increasing frequency ofmarine ecological disasters and problems, it is natural to feeldespondent and hopeless. But our fight to protect the oceans
is a marathon, not a sprint. We need to remember the joy andcomfort that the oceans bring to most of us. This zine is acelebration of just that!
Curating this zine has been a struggle for the best possible
reasons. We received well over 50 entries of beautiful
artworks, poetry and prose pieces, making my job as a curatorof this zine incredibly difficult (as you can see, this zine has
more pages than is traditional!). Unfortunately, not all thepieces fit the guidelines we shared so not all of them made it
to the final product but I would like to thank every one who
submitted an entry for generously sharing their love for theoceans with all of us. It has been an honour!
We hope you enjoy this zine, and that it brings you happiness,
optimism, and a little bit of the ocean to your home.
With lots of Ocean love,Isha(On behalf of Team Oceanswell)

SEA OF LOVERSI find solace, beneath the starry skies
Shades of blue, reflected in my crystal eyes
When the surf laps up the shore, I come home
The fine sands and tranquil sounds pull me inThe roar of the tides have me hypnotized
One moment, the foam touches your ankles,
Suddenly, it’s engulfed your back, tangled your hair
The sea drawing me in deeper, like a siren to its prey
Sheer mystery cradled in the throes of the waves
It’s presence never seen only felt in the ebb & flow
Until it touches not just your body but your soulMoana looks through yourself, glancing into your core
It provides you with insight, you never knew before
Search for the answers within but find them out at sea
Poseidon nurtures all that call out to him
Resilient, untamed with the wisdom he holds within
The ocean plays its part without you asking for it
Not silly or naïve, those who've braved the storms
Their tales of fame to be passed along as folklore
On good days and bad, it’s all the same for me
For the sea never harms those born of brine
Even when lost at sea, we’ll be one with the tide.

- Nethra Menon

-L.A.M.Hindumini Shashini Ruwandika-Hafsa Afker

What the Ocean means to me

Lonely whale 52 with me- Abdullah Haniffa,

15 yrsR. Nirmani SamarasingheLATE NIGHT MUSE
I find great peace in the ocean,It’s waves so majestic,
Yet so calm and solemn at times. .
I feel like a tiny grain in the ocean,
A tiny spec of it’s sand,My worries seem so small &insignificant
As I stare into the deep blue waters. .
I feel intimidated by its splendor
and majesty,
And afraid that it will devour me attimes. .
Oh my dear ocean, how I long to beUnited with you once again- Sheami Romaika Dewendre- Sharon JosephWAVESThe sombreness splashes with bore, While the amberhighlights it more,
A single freckle destroys it all, But a simple medal deserves
its thrall.
Inconsistency occurs anonymously, Hyperactivity gazesaggressively,
The waves desire hunger With a pinch of sweet bitterness.
Ships dodge curiously, As waves wonder wildly,
While the sea fluctuates entirely.
However, through acrimony emerges a pleasant splash.

- Kyle Albane

Protected-Lidechsi Silva

Ocean Creatures-Chetana Hettige,

8 yrs

OCEAN AND MEMORIESMy mom, as a little girl, had the privilege of spending summer vacations at
her ancestral house which was the only house situated on the beach at thattime. The area was devoid of tall buildings and they had fresh seafood for
all their meals everyday. Every vacation, on the last day of school theywould all be excited since everyday on the beach involved spending hours
lazily swimming, building sandcastles and acquiring a much needed tan.
This tradition was continued long after they shifted into a flat in thecity.
Growing up, my brother and I would have missed out on this since our lives
were a stark contrast to their simple living, but our mom would on
occasion as a treat, take us to the ancestral beach house she grew up in tospend the day. Although we could no longer see the beach from our maternal
grandparents house due to all the buildings, we would still make the mostof our time there. The house had the old wooden steps wherein we would
run up and down in excitement before my mom would get us ready for thebeach. We would go to the beach, each with a bucket, spade and a sieve inour small hands, dressed in our colour coordinated swimwear. I would
spend my time collecting sea shells before arranging them on my sandcastle.
After we were done playing and swimming, we would come back, freshen up
and change before going back home. Now that I am older, every time I go toa beach, I reminisce about my childhood memories on the beach playing inthe sand and swimming in the water.

- Dr.Charlotte Rodricks

Sri Lankan Ocean-Roshini Nirosha Devendran,

11 yrs-Thathyana Perera,

6 yrs

ADRIFTI find refuge in my memory of her;
She who could dash me against her rocky shore
Tear my flesh on jagged reefs, and pull me
Into her inky depths never to be seen again.
She rocks me on her gentle swell
To the beat of an ancient lullaby.
Her soothing sands caress me,
Cleansing weariness from my soul.
Within her tender ferocity I am nothing,
And yet I’m everything. I am one with her.
I recall her touch from near and far;In the thrill of riding on the wave,
Lonely lagoons and summer days spent on the pier.
And again beneath the coconut shade
In the cries of pure joy and fear
When her watery tendrils engulfed their feet.
A traveller drifting between worlds
Seeking mysteries of her icy deep
Brilliant shades etched in their heart
Will there forever remain.

- Thisuri Rojie Ekanayake

Releasing baby
turtles to sea-Oshadhi Wimansa Ranasinghe

HEAVEN S HIDEAWAY'I stood on the cliff, I had found the Mecca of coves. I could
see a fracture of white sand, a gash of zephyr-haunted
cliffs and a wide slash of bay. It was a watery wonderland
and the beach was drenched in the dawns golden haze. The
mighty sea flowed in its astral-blue smoothness from thehorizon. In the distance, streams of tapered light splayedout, flowing through cracks in the cloud and I clambered
down to the beach.
Slumbering in its blue robe, the sea greeted me and the halfmoon bathed the beach gently. The sand was sugar white andfloury underfoot. Looking around the secluded beach, I didn’t
see any of the normal sights; tourists with tans, tacky
stands or chattering hawkers. I realized that I was standingat the gateway of paradise. The sea siren call was soothing,
the music of the waves welcoming. It was like being wrappedin a comforting blanket of warm sounds and soft light.
My serenity was ruptured by the raucous cry of a gull. Thehollowness of the cliffs rocks made it seem mournful andthe cavern magnified its call. It echoed at first with amournful sound, recoiling from the cliffs. The bouncing anddistortion of sound rang it out once more, foundering andfinally faded away into nothingness. My serenity having
been interrupted, I decided to make my way home. The rising
sun laminated me with its warmth and a theatre of pelagic
smells wafted from the steaming seaweed.
My footprints in the sand followed me all the way home.
Heavens hideaway had been a transcendental experience andI resolved to do it again someday.
- Ashan Chandrasena

Deep blue snorkeling flashbacks- Senuri J.

-Gayle Fernando,

15 yrsෙතහසැබෑබබා ටණෙම ඇ ෙර..
..

නැෙම වඅ ම ෙග ෙතාග න අකමැයසනය එය ෙගනාක පනාෙවඑ වරම පැව වානැවබා රටෙය නැහැ එයා. .
ඉෙනානැවහැ ෙවං
ෙයාමාල සනමප ලෙකාරපර ෙයාදා. . .
ංකරැතට දැ නෙනාද න එකාෙලාව උපෙනනස නද ම සතා?. .

- Thehas and his Grandma

LITTLE BAY BEACH

Icy cold water,
And sand between crevices
That seep further into stones
And shells of a memory,
A smile, a moment
Of tracing hands along the rocky edgesof caves.
Of pigeons scattering,
Of seagulls in hundreds along the coast,
The bay with transparent water
Frothy against the rocks.
Dive into the end of winter,
The break of the cold,
The wind rough against my smile,
Caressing and careful.
Carving, eroding memories,
Against a blue backgroundOf the sky,
The surf,
And
The time- Hafsa Jamel

Under The Sea Doodles- Navika Wijeratne,

9 yrs

-Nethuli
Samaratunga,
13 yrs-Sethnuka
Abeysekara,

5 yrs

The Great Deep Dame
She sits pretty like a glamorous Queen,
Covered in shades of turquoise, sapphire, navy and royal.
She magnificently stands on plates of her throne with melting lava beneath her
And is the most definite daring, exquisite jewel within the crown of the sphere.
And oh the unusual life within her!
Billions and trillions of fish that can fly;Batoids, Seahorses,
Anglerfish and Octopi
Which can control death at the lightest bottom and acquire nine brain cells!
Mermaids, underwater kingdoms and swirling schools,
Cathedrals of coral, algae
And archives of lost wounds.
Her wreaks and rocks make her weigh,And her volcanoes erupt and make her sway,
Yet, she smiles.
She connects her children to outrageous lands,
Through her wings of infinitude dark warmth
Which like love,
Flows seamlessly bursting with life.
The aqua gushes to the bed, and the children enjoy,
Her tenderness blooming like Crocus through their toes.
She dances and sways her hips to the rhythm of the bay,
In hope of being flattered by her Romeo's glistening ray.
And there she’s demeaned, mucked and treated with disdain.
Once again.
As her tide gushes, again and again and again
Pushing, breaking, bleeding, tired more than before,
She smiles.
She’s able to lie peacefully still,
Without uttering a word of rage, except when she
Tosses to turn and rises to fall.
Like a woman,
How strong she can reign.

- Thaybah Mohamed

-Hamdha
Fowzan,

11 yrsPlastic free sea
underwater
J.M.R.V.
JAYASUNDARAREALIZATION
Where is the ocean when I need it the most?
My wild, untameable yet nurturing host.
The reason I‘m ought to live by the sea:in the water is where I can fully be free.
No judgement, no pressure and no expectations,no timings, no deadlines and no limitations,no duties, no let-downs and no accusations.
Just focused on me - and my relations.
The water and me.
The waves of the sea.
Unstoppable forces
like a herd of wild horses.
No reason to fight.
Let the wild ones be wild,
and follow their lead.
Cause there is no defeat.
There’s nothing to lose and there’s nothing towin the battle you‘re fighting is solely within.

Every Skin Is Beautiful- Nirāli Galhenage,

6 yrs- Katharina

Sofie Kraus

@Oceanswellorg@OceanswellOrg@Oceanswellorg
Oceanswell
Oceanswell Org