There is a folktale common to many traditions about a fisherman who falls in love with a seal woman... While the seal woman (called Selkie in some countries) has shed her skin and is sitting unaware, he grabs and hides it leaving her no option but to follow him home. Over time, she bears him several children. One day, her youngest child finds the hidden skin while the father is away from home and shows it to his mother. Seeing the skin again reawakens her to her true self and she returns to the sea. This poem is one I wrote on a blustery autumn night when I was out under the stars feeling a pull to the wild, away from the responsibilities of children, home and career. It was like a sweet longing that tugged on my gut and wouldn't leave me alone. I honored it with this poem that night, and then booked myself some time off the next day! Being in touch with that untamed part of me is an essential part of my life that always bring...
Women's Spiritual Poetry