“SEA” by Jack Kerouac
Sound of
the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur
“SEA”
Cherson!
Cherson!
You aint just
whistlin
Dixie, Sea------
Cherson! Cherson !
We calcimine
fathers
here below!
Kitchen light
on-----
Sea Engines
from Russia
seabirding
here below-----
When rocks
outsea froth
I’ll know
Hawaii
cracked up
& scramble
up my
doublelegged cliff
to the silt of
a million
years-----
Shoo-----Shaw-----Shirsh-----
Go on die salt
light
You billion
yeared
rock knocker
Gavroom
Seabird
Gabroobird
Sad as wife
& hill
Loved as
mother & fog
Oh! Oh! Oh!
Sea! Osh!
Where’s yr
little Neppytune
tonight?
These gentle tree pulp pages
which’ve nothing to do
with yr crash roar,
liar sea,
ah,
were made for rock
tumble seabird digdown
footstep
hollow weed
move
bedarvaling
crash? Ah
again?
Wine is salt here?
Tidal wave
kitchen?
Engines of Russia
in yr soft
talk------
Les poissons de la mer
parle Breton------
Mon nom es Lebris
de Keroack
Parle, Poissons, Loti,
parle------
Parlning Ocean sanding
crash the
billion rocks------
Ker
plotsch------
Shore------shoe------
god------brash------
The headland looks like
a longnosed Collie sleeping
with his light on his
nose, as the
ocean,
obeying its
accomodations
of mind,
crashes in
rhythm of
sand
thought------
------Big frigging shoulders
on that sonofabitch
Parle, O, parle, mer, parle,
Sea speak to
me, speak
to me, your
silver you light
Where hole
opened up in Alaska
Gray------sh------wind in
The canyon
wind in the rain
Wind in
the rolling rash
Moving and
t wedel
Sea
sea
Diving
sea
O bird------la
vengeance
De la roche
Cossez
Ah
Rare, he rammed the gate
rare over by Cherson, Cherson,
we calcify fathers here below
------a watery cross, with weeds
entwined------This grins restoredly,
low
sleep------Wave------Oh, no,
shush------Shirk------Boom plop
Neptune now his arms extends
while one
millions of souls
sit lit in
caves of darkness
------What ols bark? The dog
mountain? Down by the Sea
Engines? God
rush------Shore------
Shaw------Shoo------Oh soft sigh
we wait hair
twined like
larks------Pissit------Rest not
------Plottit, bisp tesh, cashes,
re tav, plo, aravow,
shirsh,------Who’s whispeing over
there------the silly earthen creek!
The fog
thunders------We put
silver light
on face------We
took the
heroesin------A billion
years
aint nothing------
O the cities here below!
The men with
a thousand
arms! the
stanchions of
their upward
gaze! the
coral of
their poetry! the
sea dragons
tenderized, meat
for fleshy
fish------
Navark,
navark, the fishes
of the
Sea speak Breton------
wash as soft
as people’s
dreams------We got peoples
in & out
the shore, they call
it shore,
sea call it
pish rip
plosh------The
5 billion
years since
earth we
saw substantial
chan------Chinese are
the
waves------the woods
are dreaming
No human words bespeak
the token
sorrow older
than old this
wave
becrashing
smarts the
sand with
plosh
of twirléd
sandy
thought------Ah change
the world? Ah
set
the fee? Are
rope the
angels in
all the sea?
Ah ropery
otter
barnacle’d
be------
Ah cave, Ah
crosh!
A
feathery sea
Too much
short------Where
Miss Nop
tonight?
Wroten Kerarc’h
in the
labidalian
aristotelian
parl
with slime a middle
------And Ranti forner
who pulled
pearls by
rope to throne
the King by
the roll in
the
forest of
averseas?
Not everseas, be seas
----------Creep
Crash
The woman with her body
in the sea------The frog who
never moves & thunders, sharsh
------The snake with his body
under the
sand------The dog
with the light
on his nose,
supine, with
shoulders so
enormous they
reach back to
rain
crack------These leaves hasten
to the
sea------We let them
hasten to
be wetted & give
em that old
salt change, a
nuder think
will make you see
they
originate from the We Sea
anyway------No dooming booms
on sunday
afternoons------We
run thru the
core of cliffs,
blam up
caves, disengage no
jelly or
jellied pendant
thinkers------
Our armies of
anchored
seaweed in the
coves give
of the smell
of jellied salt------
Reach,
reach, some leaves
havent hastened near
enuf------Roll, roll, purl
the sand shark floor
a greeny pali andarva
------Ah back------Ah forth------
A shish------Boom, away,
doom, a day------Vein we
firm------The sea is We------
Parle, parle, boom the
earth------Arree------Shaw,
Sho, Shoosh,
flut,
ravad, tapavada pow,
coof, loof, roof, ------
No,no,no,no,no,no------
Oh ya, ya,
ya, yo, yair------
Shhh------
Which one?
the one? Which
one? The one ploshed------
The ploshed
one? the same,
ah
boom------Who’s that ant
that giant golden saltchange
ant magnifying my mountain
of feet? ‘Tis Finder, finding
the change in
thought to join
the boomer
hangers in the
cave a
light------And built a
house above it?
Never
fear,
naver foir, les bretons qui
parlent la langue de la Mar
sont espanol comme le cul
du Kurd qui dit le maha
prajna paramita du Sud ?
Ah oui ! Ke
Vlum !
Glum sea,
silent me------
They aint
about to try
it them ants who wear
out tunnels in
a week
the tunnel a
million years
won------no------Down around
the headland
slobs for weed,
the chicken of
the sea
go yak! they
sleep------
Aroar, aroar,
arah, aroo------
Otter me otter me daughter me sea
------me last blue lagoon inside of
me, the
sea------Divine is the
substance all
over the Sea---
Of space we
speak &
hasten------Let no mouth
swallow the
sea------Gavril------
Gavro------the Cherson chinese
& Old
Fingernail sea------Is
ringin yr
ear? Dier, dee?
Is Virgin you trying to
fathom me
Tiresome old
sea, aint you sick
& tired
of all of this merde?
this incessant
boom boom
& sand walk------you people
hoary rockies
here to Fuegie
& never
get sad? Or despair
like a German
phoney?
Just gloom
booboom & green
on foggy
nights------the fog is part
of us------
I know,
but tired
as I can be
listening to all
this silly
majesty------
Basho!
Lao!
Pop!
Who is
this fish
sitting
unsunk? Run up
a Hawaii
typhoon smash him
against his
rock------We’ll jelly you,
jellied
man, show you essential
jello of
the sea------King
of the
Sea.
No Monarc’h ever Irish be?
Ju see the
Irish sea?
Green winds on tamarack vines------
Joyce------James------Shhish------
Sea------------Sssssss------see
------------Varash
------------mnavash la vache
écriture------the sea dont say
muc’h
actually------
Gosh,
she,
huzzy, tow, led men
on, Ulysses
and all them
fair headed
moin------
Terplash,
& what difference
make! One
little white
spark of
light!
Hair woven
hands
Penelope
seaboat
smeller------Courtiers in
Telemachus
‘sguise
dropedary
dropedary
creep------Or------
Franc gold
rippled
that
undersea creek
where fish fish for
fisher
men------Salteen
breen the wet
Souwesters
of old
Portugee Prayers
Tsall
tangled, changed,
salt &
drop the sand
& weed
& water brains
entangled------Rats
of old
Venetian yellers
Ariel Calibanned
to Roma Port------
Pow------spell------
Speak you
parler,
in this my
mother’s
parlor,
wash your
undershoes
when you
come in,
say thanks
to foggy
moon
Go brash,
Topahta
offat,
------we’ll gray
ye
rose------Morning
primord
creeper sees
the bird
of paravision
dying tweet
the yellow
mouthroof!
How sweet
the earth,
yells sand!
Xcept
when tumble
boom!
O we
wait too
for
Heaven------ all
in One------
All is
there
in fair
& sight
I’m going
wash now
old Pavia
down,
& pack
my salt
to Either
Town------
Cliffs of
Antique
aint got no
rose,
the
morning’s seen
the ledder
pose------
Boom de
boom dey
the sea is
me------
We are the
sea------
It aint
all snow
We wash Fujiyama down
soon, &
sand
crookbird
back------
We hie bash
rock------------ak------
Long short------
Long and
easy------
Wind &
many freezing
bottoms an luckrock------
Rappaport------
Endymion thou tangled
dreamer love my thigh
------Rose, Of Shelley,
Rose, O Urns!
Ogled urns in
fish eye
Cinco sea
the Chico sea
the Magellan
headland sea
------What hype sideral did he put down
bending
beatnik sea goatee
over old goat
manuscripts
to find the
other side of Flat?
See round,
see the end of me?
Rounden huge
bedoom?
Awp hole
cave & shwrul------
sand &
salt & hair eyes
------Strong enuf to make
coffee grow
in your hair------
Whose
plantation Neptune got?
That of
Atlas still down there,
Hesperid’s
his feet, Sur his sleet,
Irish Sea
fingertip
&
Cornwall aye his soul
bedoom
Shurning------Shurning------plop
be
dosh------This sigh old learning’s
high beside
me------Rough
old hands
have played out
pedigree,
we’ve sunk more boats
than
dreamer’ll ever ever see
------Burning------Burning------The world
is burning
& needs waaater
------I’ll have a daughter,
oughter,
wait & see------
Churning,
Churning, Me------
Panties------Painties------
these ancient
fancies are
so
girling------You’ve not seen
mermaids in
my actual sea
------You’ve not seen sexlss babies
with breasts
of Majesty------
My
wife------My wife------
Her name is
Oh so really
high
life
The low life Kingdom where
we part out tea, is sea
side Me------
Josh------coof------patra------
Aye ee mo
powsh------
Ssst------Cum here read me------
Dirty
postcard------Urchin sea------
Karash your
name------?
Wanta swim,
sink or swim?
Ears ringing
again?
Sea vibrate
rhythm
crash sets off
cave
hanger
blowers whistling
dog ear
back------to sea------
Arree------
Gerudge Napoleon nada------
Nada
Pluto eats
the sea------
Room------
Hands folded
by the sea------
“On est toutes
cachez, mange
le silence,“ dit les poissons de la
mer------Ah
Mar------Gott------
Thalatta------Merde------Marde
de mer------Mu mer------Mak a
vash------
The ocean
is the mother------
Je ne suis pas mauvaise quand
j’sui
tranquil------dans les tempetes
j’cri ! Come une folle !
j’mange,
j’arranche toutes!
Clock------Clack------Milk------
Mai! mai! mai! ma!
says the
wind blowing sand------
Pluto
eats the sea------
Ami go------------da------che pop
Go------Come------Cark------
Care------Kee ter da vo
Kataketa
pow! Kek kek kek!
Kwakiutl!
Kik!
Some of
theserather taratasters
trapped hyra tchere thaped
the anadondak
ram ma lat
round by Krul to Pat the lat
rat the
anaakakalked
romon t o t
t e k
Kara VOOOM
frup------
Feet
cold? wade------Mind sore?
sim------sin------Horny? ------lay the sea?
Corny? try
me------
Ussens
here hang no more
here we go, ka
va ra ta
plowsh, shhh,
and more,
again, ke vlook
ke bloom &
here comes
big Mister
Trosh
------more
waves coming,
every
sillable windy
Back wash
palaver
paralarle------paralleling
parle pe Saviour
A troblesome spirit
hanging here cant make it
in the
void------The sea’ll
only drown me------These words
are
affectations
of sick mortality------
We try to
make our way
in self
reliance, aid
not ever
comes too quick
from
whereever & whatever
heaven dear
may have
suggested to
promise us------
But these waves scare me------
I am going to die
in full
despair------
Wake up where?
On second
breath in life
the atmosphere
is dearer
maybe closer
to Heaven
------------Oh Paradise------------
Is the sea really so bad?
Have you sent
men
here for this cold clown
& monstrous eater at the
world? whose sound
I mock?
God I’ve got believe in you
or live in
death!
Will you save
us------all?
Soon or
now?
Send
illumination
to our
drowning brains
------We’re pitiful,
Lord,
we need yr help!
Save us,
Dear------
(Save
yourself, God man,
ha ha!)
If you were
God man
you’d command these waves
to very well
Tennyson stop
& even
Tennyson
is dear
now
dead
Leave it to the light
Concern
yourself with supper,
& an eye
somebody’s
eye------a wife,
a girl, a
friend, an animal
------a blood let drop------
he for his
sea,
he for his
fire,
thee for thy
desire
“The sea drove
me away
& yelled
‘Go to your desire!’
------As I hurried up the valley
It added one last yell:-
‘And
laugh!”
Even the
sea cant stop me from
writing
something to read in my old age
------This is the chart of brief forms,
this sea
the briefest------Shish yourself------
After scaring me like that, Mar,
I’ll excoriate yr slum------yr
iodine weeds
& slime hoops,
even yr dried
hollow seaweed
stinks------you stink all over------
Boom------Try that, creep------
The little
Monterey fishingboat
glides
downward home 15 miles to go,
be home to
fried fish & beer b’five------
It guides
the sea its bird routes------
------Silver
loss forever outward
------From blue sky of human bridges
to the massive
mawcloud sea center
heap------to
the gray------
Some boys
call it gunboat blue,
or gray, but
I call it
the Civil
War of Rocks
------Rocks ‘come air, rocks ‘come water,
&
rocks rocks------
Kara tavira, mnash grand bash
------poosh l’abas------croosh
L’a haut------Plash au pied------
Peeeee------Rolle test boulles------
Manche d’la rache------
The
handsome King prevails
over boom
sing bird head------
“Crache tes idées,” spit yr ideas
says the sea, to me,
quite
appro priate ly------
Pss! pss!
pss!
Ps! girl
inside!
Red shoes
scum, eyes of old
sorceres,
toenails hanging down
in the
barrel of old firkin cheese
the Dutchman
forgot t’eat that
tempest
nineteen O
sixteen------
When
torpedoed by gunboat
Pedro
in the Valley
of a Million Fees?
When Magellan crosseyed
ate the
Amazonian feet------
And, Ah, when Colombo cross’t!
When Drake sir francised the waves
with feeding
of the blue jay
dark------pounded his aleward
tank before
the boom,
housed up all
thoughts of Erik
the Red the
Greenland caperer
& builder of rockdungs in New
Port------New------yet
Oldport Indian
Fishhead------
Oldport Tattoo
Kwakiutl Headpost
taboo potash
Coyotl potlatch?
Old Primitive Columbia.------
Named for Colom bus?
Name for
Aruggio Vesmarica------
Ar!------Or!------Da!
What about
Verrazano?
he sailed!------
He
Verrazano zailed & we
statened his
Island in on deep
in on dashun------
Rotted
the Wallower?
Sinners
liars goodmen all
sink waterswim
drink Neptune’s
nectar the
zal sotat------------
Zal sotate
name for crota?
Crota ta crotte, you aint
‘bout to
find (Jesus Christian!)
any dry turds
here below------
Why fo no?
Go crash
yonder rock
of bleak
with yr filet mignon teeth
&
see------For you, the hearth,
the
heart, the lock of hair------
For me,
for us, the Sea,
the
murdering of time by eating
lusty
cracks of lip feed wave
at
aeons of sandy artistry
till
nothing’s left but old age
newmorning primordial pain
of
sitters by
the unborn
bird
of
roses yet undone------
With weeds
your roses,
sand crabs your hummers?
With buzzers in the sea!
With runners
in the deep!
This Sceptred Osh, this wide leg
spanning rock
U.S. to rock
Ja Pan, this
onstable
roller
roaming all,
this ploosher
at yr gory
dry dung
door, this mouth
of
silverwhite arring to hold thee,
this purger
of conscience
arra for
thee------
No mouse in
here but’s got
a little
glee------and
aft, or oft,
the osprey
in his
glee’s agley------
Oh purty
purty ocean
me------
Sop!
bring the Scepter down
Again you’ve
accepted me!
Breathe our
iodine, filthy yr drink,
faint at feet wet, drop
yr profile
move it in the sea,
float weeded watery Adonais
longs for
thee------& Shelley three,
that’s
three------burn in salt
with slow most change------
We’ve had no crack at eternity
in a billion years of trying------
one grain of
sand possesses
3 thousand
worlds of glee------
not to mention
me------
Ah
sea
Ah si------Ah so------
shoot------shiver------mix------
ha roll------tara------ta ta------
curlurck------Kayash------Kee------
Pearls pearls in the yellow West
------Yellow sky to China------
Pacific we named here
water as
always meeting
water------Pacific Pacific
Pacific
tapfic------geroom------
gedowsh------gaka------gaya------
Tatha------gata------mana------
What sails
used old bhikkus?
Dhikkus?
Dhikkus!
What raft mailed Mose
to the hoven dovepost?
What saved Blackswirl
from the
Kidd plank?
What Go-Bug here?
Seet!
Seeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeee------kara------
Pounders out
yar------
Big Sur they call this sand
these rocks
this creek?
Raton Canyon
by name pours
Coyote leaves
& old Pomo bones
& old dust of Tomahawks
into your
angler’d maw------
My salt maw
shall salvage
Taylors------sewing in the room
below------
Sewing weed shrat for hikers
in the milky
silt------
Sewing
crosswards
for
certainty------Sartan
are we of Price
Victory
in this salt
War with thee
& thine
thee jellied yink!
Look O the
sea here called
Pacific
Sea!
T a k
i !
My golden empty soul’ll
outlast yr salty sill
------the Windows of my jelly eye
& fish
head muck look out on thee,
slit, with
cigar-a-mouth,
some
contempt------
Yet I
hie me to see you
------you hie thee to eat
me------Fair
in sight
and worn,
aright------
Arra! Aroo!
Ger der va------
Silly silent
cities in the sea
have children
playing cardboard
mush with eignyard old Englander
beeplates
slickered oer with scum
of
histories below------
No tempest as still & awful
as the
tempest within------
Sorcerer hip! Buddhalands
&
Buddhaseas!
What sails
Maudgalyayana used
he only knows
to tell
but got kilt
by yellers
sreaming down the cliff
“Let’s
go home!
Now!”
------leave marge smashed djamas
Maudgalyayana was murdered by the sea------
But the sea
dont tell------
The sea dont
murder------
The seadrang
scholars
oughter know
that
or
go back to
School
Hear over
there the ocean motor?
Feel the splawrsh of it?
Six silly
centepedes here, Machree------
Ah
Ratatatatatat------
the machinegun sea, rhythmic
balls of your
pouring in
with smooth
eglantinee
in yr
pedigreed milkpup
tenor------
Tinder marsh
aright arrooo------
arrac’h------arrache------
Kamac’h------monarc’h------
Kerarc’h
Jevac’h------
Tamana------------gavow------
Va------Voovla------Via------
Mia------mine------
sea
poo
Farewell,
Sur------
Didja ever
tell him
about water
meeting water------?
O go back to otter------
Term------Term------Klerm
Kerm------Kurn------Cow------Kow------
Cash------Cac’h------------Cluck------
Clock------Gomeat
sea need
be deep I
see you
Enoc’h
soon
anarf
in Old
Brittany
21 August 1960
Pacific Ocean at Big Sur
California
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