We so often assume
that we have been forsaken
or that we are wrong
or out of alignment
or being punished
simply because
the tide has gone out. 

… But the ocean could never 
abandon the shore.

It just 
doesn’t 
work 
that 
way.

I’m starting to notice
that when the divine
pulls the tide out
she braids the shoreline
with little rivers 
as if she were playing with my hair
and telling me bedtime stories.

As she flirtatiously retreats 
she uncovers the living sculpture
of my terrain
the rocks and ridges 
fissures and faults
of my personality
my emotions
my beliefs
my body
my perceptions
my compulsions.

She puts love notes
in the wind for me
expressing how she  
delights in every form 
our relationship takes—
both in its closeness
and in stepping back 
to see her creation
exposed in its entirety.

I feel her gaze 
in awe and adoration 
upon every part of me.

So when the water recedes 
and illusions of separation set in
know that you are being 
both carved and cherished.

Give yourself over to
her ebb and flow
for her “absence”
can’t exist
for more 
than a moment
as she moves 
heaven and earth
gravity and oceans
just to swoop back in
kissing your feet 
to your forehead
laughing
as she fills you 
completely 
all over again.

—

“When the Tide Goes Out”
with Emilia Rauckytė 
© 2019 Divine and Human LLC

Music licensed by Soundstripe <3