In Derek Walcott’s poem ,The Sea Is History, the poet begins with a question, “Where are your monuments, your battles, martyrs?” and then answers, “The sea is History.” This made me think about how the sea can keep memories that people have forgotten. I thought that it suggests that history is not always something we can see in books or buildings, it can also live in nature, especially in the sea.

Walcott’s poem starts with using the word Genesis, and then shows how human actions, pain, and destruction followed. For example, he writes, “First, there was the heaving oil, heavy as chaos; then, like a light at the end of a tunnel, the lantern of a caravel, and that was Genesis.” I thought this image was interesting because I thought that normally, Genesis is about beginnings and creation, but here, it feels heavy and dark, not holy. I thought that it shows how something that looks like a beginning can also bring harm.

Another line that stood out to me was “Bone soldered by coral to bone.” It made me imagine bones lying on the bottom of the sea, slowly becoming part of the coral and rocks. I thought it shows how the sea keeps traces of people’s lives, even after they disappear. The sea becomes a kind of memory, it doesn’t speak, but it remembers. Also, later in the poem, Walcott writes, “Emancipation—jubilation, O jubilation—vanishing swiftly as the sea’s lace dries in the sun.” I thought that the word jubilation means joy, but it disappears quickly, like water drying under the sun. It shows that happiness or freedom can be fragile. Even moments of celebration fade away, just like waves that come and go.

Overall, this poem made me think that the sea in this poem is not just water, it’s like a living archive of human emotions, pain, and time. It holds stories that people no longer tell. For me, this poem reminds that nature itself can be a keeper of history, quietly carrying memories that the world has forgotten.