In the Deep

I was a slip of flotsam, a wave held
sea-slap, turning in the deep. We all
were: the selkies, the seals, the birds
knifing into the black, the mackerel
like a silvery weed, the cod bullying
through the dark. We are all the same;
tugged down on the sea’s umbilical rhythm,
breathing the water’s contractions, the roil
and pull of underwater storms, the dappled
pattern, like fish cheek impressions,
on shallow sand. When the waves rolled
I flew beneath them, felt them hold me,
cupped like a hand, felt my place in the dark.
There are no tears in the sea.

Wendy Pratt was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1978. She now lives just outside Filey. She has recently completed a BA in English Literature with the Open University, is now studying towards her MA in creative writing with the Manchester Metropolitan University and a PhD at Hull university. Her first poetry pamphlet, Nan Hardwicke Turns into a Hare was published byProlebooks in 2011. Her first full size collection, Museum Pieces  is also published by Prolebooks. Her latest pamphlet, Lapstrake is published by Flarestack Poets. Wendy is the poetry correspondent for Northern Soul, where she writes a regular column called ‘Northern Accents’. She is also part of the womentoring project. She won the Yorkmix competition and the Prole laureate in 2015.