sea crystals shimmer in my hair
born of abalone
iridescent cradle
lulled by tides into consciousness
awakened.
moon conjures swells
that polish shards
birthing sand
nudging oyster until pearl arises
we are all made of stardust
transmuted by sea
held together by water
our power is more than a wave
for we are ocean.
—
Lauren Emiko Ito is an American Gosei (fifth generation person of Japanese ancestry) poet, researcher, and student of the sea whose art explores ancestral healing, and genealogies of home. Her work has been featured by KQED, The Seattle Times, San Francisco Public Library, Japanese American National Museum, Minnesota Street Project, among others. As a San Francisco Arts Commission Artist Grantee and Artist in Residence at the Japanese American Historical Society, Lauren’s current project convenes Japanese American poets and visual artists to co-create a “love letter to our ancestors: past, present and future.” She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and can almost always be found by—often swimming in—the sea.
