© 2010 Jean-Claude Romeuf
© 2010 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
My garden is a deep sea.
This morning the weather was nice and I went swimming,
As usual Mouchka, my cat, followed me.
While I lifted a few bunches of warm grass,
To sink into the unsuspected water,
She lay down on the newly mown lawn.
It’s always hard to let go.
You have to go down very slowly and don’t forget
To pinch your nose to decompress your ears. Otherwise, it hurts.
Then when we have reached the desired depth,
We turn towards the sky and point out its position in relation to the sun.
It’s a guarantee of safety in finding your way.
I swam among the fish.
Contrary to popular belief,
Fish do not mix with each other.
Above my head, a school of sea bream and a school of oblades
Who seemed motionless, touching each other. But each at home!
You can be sure that there were no sar among the oblades.
Five or six meters below the surface
Where a few ripples of grass made a stir
Seven groupers looked down, but didn’t seem to
Take an interest in the small, silver-glittering sea breams
Which are usually their favorite food.
It wasn’t time to eat yet!
From the bottom of the sea, I could also see Mouchka
Who was playing dead while waiting for me.
It seemed occupied by some starling.
Who delights in the ants populating my garden
Would have been imprudent enough to get too close to her through distraction.
Without a doubt, patience is an innate talent of my cat!
I never go down beyond forty meters, that’s where God lives.
However, it’s not the desire that I lack to meet him!
I believe that if I delved too deeply into myself, I would no longer have the courage to come back to the surface.
There are so many beautiful things waiting for me to discover!
But like my cat I’m in no hurry.
This morning, I must have stayed at the bottom of the water for at least thirty minutes.
Lucie, all tanned and luminous with her personal dazzling sunshine, ended up calling me:
“It’s time to eat!” So I calmly went back to the surface. Every time I go to the sea, I bring back a fish.
I give it to the fox, who haunts my henhouse every evening
And who is gradually becoming as tame as my chickens.
Jean-Claude Romeuf