Daughter of the sea

You are the daughter of the sea,

oregano's first cousin.

Swimmer, your body is pure as the water;

cook, your blood is quick as the soil.

Everything you do is full of flowers,

rich with the earth.

Your eyes go out toward the water,

and the waves rise;

Your hands go out to the earth

and the seeds swell;

You know the deep essence
of water and the earth,

conjoined in you like a formula for clay.

Naiad: cut your body into turquoise pieces,

they will bloom resurrected in the kitchen.

This is how you become everything that lives.

And so at last, you sleep,

in the circle of my arms

that push back the shadows
so that you can rest

vegetables, seaweed, herbs:

the foam of your dreams.

Pablo Neruda