Waves rush ashore
to leave an echo in my ears.

‘When you dare to truly listen
your heart will be opened wide.’ the waves whisper.

And so I pause
to let the waves vibrate in my chest.
I am drowning, freezing,
held tight by the cold water.

‘Surrender!’ the waves whisper
in their mesmerizing rhythm.
Time stands still.
I am floating; weightless,
under the moon and stars
that illuminate the breathing surface of the sea.

Upon opening all sensing eyes,
a seal is reborn, finally returning home.
I am warm, protected,
as I am reunited with my seal skin.

And the seal sister’s greeting song
howls through the night.
With a bright glow in their eyes
and a spark igniting their joyous dance,
they welcome me to their midst.

I am whole again.

I wrote this poem in October 2018; inspired by the selkies (women who turn into seals by putting on seal skins or maybe they are seals who turn into women when they shed their skins. Who knows?) and the loving Women’s Circle that I had been a part of for two months. I was also four months pregnant and deeply connecting to the ocean. There was something to learn from surrendering to the waves.