Under the Spell of a Dreaming Land
The first time I ever laid eyes on the bay I recognized it. The part of me comprised of water leapt out of my skin, through my pores, to join the bay. Home! Those cells shouted and whooped with glee, diving to merge like happy fish. Two magnets coming together. Some ancient soul piece found freedom here, surfing currents and channels of memory. Wait! I was sucked in like a whirlpool, into a vortex. I couldn’t leap after them. Come back! I’m not ready! Give me an otter tail, or a whale fin.
I saved for a paddle board, instead.
I was pinned, some distant starlight anchoring me in place. It was my girl child self, the part of me that remembers being free. She recognized her home, and leapt out into the waters, rejoining some mermaid past in a glacial bay, happily lapping up salt water half submerged in a tidepool. It never looks the same, not ever. From one moment to the next is a constant kaleidoscope of changing. Sky, tide, and bay; infinite variations. Thats what I love about it.
Kachemak Bay.
In the beginning, a giant bear walked on the land creating tracks. One paw print filled with ocean and became the bay, and the claws turned into its…