The Sea in Me
I am made of water
So I carry her with me -
the mother of the sea
Even when landlocked
Her waves crash,
each breath meeting my belly
With each tear,
she makes herself known
hydration to the skin,
nourishment to the soul
Knowing not to wipe her away
To weep is to be held,
rocked to sleep
by her waves
Falling Fairies
Sky dancer
Cascading to the forest floor
Your graceful gliding,
sun kissed silhouette
Shimmers like the final moments
before a summer sunset
Distracting from the dance of death that
defines your descent
Golden, Green, and Red
You paint the sky as you fly
Turning a downward spiral into a work of art
Sky dancer
Calm in the face of collision
You revel on rock bottoms
Transforming decay into diamonds
You form a blanket of autumn allure
over a frigid ground
creating a cushiony catwalk
for times of transition
You remind us just how regal release can be,
ceremonial,
an inevitable trajectory,
An airborne acrobat who takes a leap,
no looking back,
Knowing next season, the ballet of fall
will return for an encore enchanting us all.
Incantation for Returning to the Body
My body is a burial ground,
and it’s time to raise the dead.
Surrendering to sensation,
from my toes to my head
I will not fly over feelings,
landing only in my mind.
Having answers to the why’s
has only left me
farther behind.
I’ll feel the shivers on my skin
before putting on my coat.
I’ll ride the waves of worry
without jumping off the boat.
I’ll feel the tightness in my chest
and let it know I’m here -
stay present through the wobbles and shakes,
the excitement, the fear.
Below my neck lies wisdom
I’ve never stopped to meet -
abandoning the landscape
from my shoulders to my feet.
I’m sorry for the silence,
my betrayal, my unkindness.
I believed I was without the tools
to meet my body’s wildness.
But now, I see, there’s
nothing I must fix.
My worth is inherent,
Even When I just exist.
The Initiation
Into the water I went
Oh, the plunge
It was cold
But the sun warmed my body
While the Moon supported my soul
Into the water I went
Left my life preserver behind
Sun faded on the shoreline
A lone soul I swam
with the predators of the sea
drawn to the scent of me
Into the water I went
Deeper
A morsel of flesh
lost in a sea without edge
The waves tearing fabric from my skin
left me shivering, my soul worn thin
Suddenly, I floated
Naked and Exposed
My bare body baptized in wild waters
Into the water I went
The waves sang a lullaby that soothed my tired eyes
My breath, mirroring the rhythm of the sea
Her waves, the cradle rocking me
Singing songs of prophecy
Into the water I went
My legs gave out from lifetimes of swimming against the current
Surely, I will drown
Just another soul lost at sea
Yet-
In my surrendering
my legs became fins
Gills emerged
where poisoned lungs once lived
I could now dive deep into the mystery of the waters below
and breath the air of my ancestors-
The air of truth
Into the water I went
Deeper still
I swam beside creatures I was told were fantasy
Mermaids combed my tangled hair
Sharing stories of sailors who hunted them as fish
Together, we wept
Remembering
The pirates who hooked them
Captured Them
Enslaved them
Who cut off their fins and made them wear shoes,
Who outlawed the siren songs of their grandmothers
Into the the water I went
When I arrived at the bottom
I discovered a forest of forgotten treasure
On a decomposed gold chest
With a ragged, ancient shell
I carved out my name
Receiving the gems that were mine to claim
It took getting lost at sea
To embody the treasure I was born to be
To walk the path of my destiny
What goes down
Always returns
And so,
I rose
In a crown of seaweed and muck
Carrying the bounty of my excavations
I returned to the shore to tell the tale of my liberation
Conversations with Consciousness
What even is it I’m trying to create?
Do my words have meaning
or did I show up too late?
Bondage without rope
Doubt before hope
“Pause and pass up your pursuit of proving—
Climbing the ladder doesn’t mean that you’re moving.”
Even though you speak to me in seasons and signs,
Chaos clouds your clarity on this ancient battle line.
Wondering if I’m on to something
or just losing my mind—
Is the road to freedom marked
by bones and decline?
Shocked by the sweetness of surrendered remains
while death row descendants theorize who’s to blame.
“Freedom awaits beyond the internal captor’s chains. Hang on dear one,
help is already on the way.
Shift your sight,
hang
upside
down.
In the darkest of places,
dazzling diamonds are found.”
Are you my north star
or a plane flying by?
Am I aiming too low—
Am I aiming too high?
Does giving myself freely to everyone
risk my chance to discover my place in the sun?
“Wisdom is wielded when coming undone.”
Reflecting on connecting, one last try at clarity...
Did my immobility mobilize me?
Was it through blindness that I learned to see?
“Answers go missing in the land of mystery.
Peace is knowing when to live and let be.”
Tethered
Soles of my feet,
the place my soul
and her soul
meet
roots unseen
connecting her
to me.
Whispers Between Worlds
Liminal lessons
Otherworldly blessings
The place between
Roots and stream
Translucent and green
Where Spirit intervenes
Discovering wonderland
On the edge of forest and sand
Moved by the wind
To her sound I sing
Gratitude to the river
From her vessel, I’m delivered
In rhythm, in flow
Her language I know
Silencing my mind
So I may find,
Peace in this place
Reborn in her grace
Surfacing
Surfacing.
Returning.
Not fixing,
Not finding.
Retiring my needle,
Retiring my thread.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to mend.