These Waters
BY REBECCA CHEEK
Back to the start,
where I began.
Swimming
In my mother’s womb,
In her protective waters.
Where it was She and Me.
Nurtured
by the sounds of her
breath and heartbeat.
The cadence
clear and
bittersweet.
Cleaved from her life.
I yearn
to return
to her,
Our history.
Instead,
I give myself
to the sea.
The cleansing waters
set me
free.
There I hear
the echo of her
breath and heartbeat
from a distant
memory.
I reunite with omma 엄마,
just my mama and me.
Rebecca Cheek (she/her) is a Korean American adoptee living in the south. She’s a peace seeker, striving to live life yogically. She is currently taking a pause in her professional career to raise her children and trying to figure out what she wants to do when she (really) grows up.
