To my third child

They say that in the beginning of pregnancy 

The soul moves in and out of the womb

Dancing between body and formlessness

And then fully entering

Incarnation.

Heavy with child I inch into the womb of the sea mother

Going deeper and then retreating

As the shock of her chill transfixes my skin

A mixture of pleasure and pain.

Some days I have been braver than this,

Plunging belly and breasts under with abandon

And laughing at those with more trepidation.

Some days I am the trepidatious one

Needing the encouragement of those who have gone before.

I think for souls it is the same.

My first two children - thrusting themselves into reality

From formlessness to form

And now this one

Who made the long journey to the womb like I have made into the sea.

Come closer, my love, let your courage be stronger than your fear.

Now we are both here

Incarnate in the vastness of ocean and time

Two souls

Within a body within a womb

Within a body

Within a womb 

Words written by myself as I swam in the sea in West Wales a few weeks ago

Photographs by the incredibly talented @sarahbeatricephotography