Low Tide Notes | 0014
Gracias, Puerto Rico
Good morning, happy Friday.
I’m writing to you while listening to the Atlantic crash upon a secluded beach in Puerto Rico. Jack’s swimming laps in the pool, Junie’s napping in the king bed.
We took a trip when my work is possibly at its busiest, when Jack’s work is nonstop. But we felt the creep strong — the, why are we doing this? What’s the point of working so hard? Do we even like each other anymore? — creep.
Yes, we do still like each other. And this trip has been a needed respite to slow down, phones down, read a book or two, ooh and ahh at our baby’s every move, put our nuclear family, well, back in the center.
So, a viernes reflection.
Slow mornings, ocean breezes, starry nights
One morning, while sipping espresso and milk, before the sun burned the haze away, I wrote:
Island hues
Skies blue
Rolling waves crash on shore
My baby plays
I lay
Grateful for what’s in store
It’s always by the sea when writing a poem captures me. I recall vividly sitting on a massive rock formation on the coast of Australia, overtaken by the power of the ocean, the sea roaring, and how small I felt, how deeply I desired to write a poem about my feeling.
I view poems as a puzzle, finding which words rhyme to make sense. They’re not always good (see above), but it’s that moment, how I felt, a slice of great movement within me, seized.
I finished reading The Wager while here. A nonfiction book about a shipwreck in the 1740s. What struck me most was how after starvation, murder, mutiny, storms in freezing temperatures, longing for loved ones, disease, death — after all of that — the men who survived did it again.
For the love of the sea.
What I listened to (last) week
Esther Perel: Cheating, Codependency, & Connection, Call Her Daddy
“What matters most is not compatibility in communication styles, but accountability. … It’s the ability to take responsibilty without shame.”
Anyone else just love Esther Perel AND Alex Cooper? Alex, a great interviewer, and Esther, queen, break down aspects of relationships in an approachable way. Thoroughly enjoyed this convo, and think it’s valuable for anyone — in a relationship or not.
If you haven’t yet, check out some of my past essays:
