At the Water’s Edge

—for Stephanie & Grace and all sisters standing at the water’s edge

A great body of water

stretches out,

touching our distant shores

where we contemplate the horizon.

Here in the high desert,

from the highest peaks

I feel the water’s bones—

recollections of the ocean,

under ancient rock,

layers of time,

ochre, grey and red,

peeking through the tilting slope.

Sea floor rising—

volcanic stones scattered,

boulders perched on the land,

their giant solemn faces

conceal eons,

while under their closed eyelids

they dream the ocean’s body.

Even here,

in the heart of the continent,

the salt waters of the world

reach me.

On this shore,

I breathe the air

of distant coastlines,

where my sisters gaze

across the open water,

dreaming

of these mountains

submerged in the sky.

—Lorena Wolfman (2020, 2025)