A Deep Blue Devotion

By Caitlin Swalec

On the salted shore, my worries

become nothing more

than sandcastles to the sea.

Washed away daily

with the ebb and flow of tides.

My arms, my oars—

My body, a vessel—

Each stroke, a prayer.

I’ve brought my worries to the sea

for dissolution, and then, distillation.

A deep blue devotion.

This littoral space,

my liminal place.

A daily resurrection.

I return to the same shore to find

I have traveled nowhere. Yet,

I am leagues away from where I began.

Caitlin Swalec

Caitlin is a wild swimmer and trail runner based in Santa Barbara, California. During adventures in the ocean and mountains, she often reaches a meditative flow state that helps her process her anxiety and fears, mainly stimulated by climate change advocacy, her chosen profession. She uses this creative state to craft poetry as a form of expression to reflect on her experiences in this world, including her athletic endeavors like swimming the Santa Barbara Channel last fall.