giving back and forth, but give to me

by julia taylor & maeve ambrose

do you know where the water meets the land?

without the sea, what would the cliffs look like
?
don’t you think we take? from 
or with 
each other

what do your eyes open and see, as I clench mine–
    deeper, darker, into oblivion–
do they see in the deep?
can you read in sapphire?

talk to the deep, for me
rage, writhe, speak, for me

i’ll sit with the seaweed

if i could breathe water 
i would for you
I’d take it in and 
turn it into rain

if only you could let me breathe you in 
and spit you all back out
or maybe i can exchange you for something better

what if it’s not rebirth
but we go into the water and give to them
(who is them?)
and then they give to us

what if instead
we can release but remember
not cleansed
not new 
refreshed because we can remember

to sink or to swim
such a narrow line between them
tread carefully

to look into the Blue.
Give something back to me.

For her poem 'giving back and forth, but give to me,' Maeve explored the feeling inside a disingenuous share–when you get something, but it isn't what you need. Struck by Maeve's imagery both human and marine, Julia made a painted silhouette to illustrate. Together, the work explores our fundamental interdependence, and our hunger to give as well as take on our own terms.