Instinct

by Grace Pappadellis ’29 on November 6, 2025


Portfolio


Fast and sharp,
the depths are cool and confined.
Yet, there’s miles of blue,
salt in my gills,
invigorate my hunger.

I don’t know what I’m hungry for.
I hear each stealth movement,
creases in the water,
low and undefined,
I’m enormous and alone.

I wait for the next tide,
the next shift of a surfboard,
the sunlight only infiltrates when it decides.
Why am I so hungry?
I taste blood in my jaw, I’m on the edge as I swim.

Potent, painful, I sway.
In my abandonment, the sea surrounds me.
Forever there is noise, a ringing almost deafening,
I attack nearly blind, but everything is limpid.

I’ll never catch a wave, I’ll only sink once I’m full.
Beautiful, alone, the only place I know.