The Far-Flung Sea

Sometimes when I walk down a Manhattan street, I see a seagull fly overhead or I catch a whiff of salt air, and I remember that just beyond the skyscrapers, the Hudson and East Rivers kiss the ocean. And the ocean is just a few miles from where I stand--less? And the ocean is huge and expanseless and full of mystery. It is a strange comforting feeling to think that the ocean is so close to me.