I wrote this poem from the voice of a shell.

It was born during a breath and poetry workshop, where each of us was invited to pick a seashell and write from it.

I chose a small shell — white, but not completely white. It had little holes. Some parts felt smooth, others uneven.

The first question that came to my mind was:

“How long have you been in the sea?”

I imagined this tiny shell rolled by waves, hit by rocks, carried here and there by the ocean. I traced the holes with my fingers, felt the uneven surface, and thought about the marks of time.

Yet, even with all those marks, the shell was still whole. Still beautiful. Still perfect in its own way.

Then another thought came: the sea is not always wild with waves. There are moments when the water is calm — when the shell can rest, stay still, and slowly grow.

That’s when this poem was created:

The Poem

Hi Coral,

Hi You

how long have you been in the sea?

how many times have the waves struck you,

throwing, scraping,

leaving wounds, holes, cracks,

etching their marks?

but the sea is not always

wild with waves.

when it is calm,

you stay still and grow.

you are not white,

but you are pure.

you are not even,

but you are perfect.

— June 7, 2025

When I read the poem again later, I realized the shell was also teaching me something about life.

We are not shaped only by storms, but also by moments of calm.

Our scars do not take away our wholeness — they become part of what makes us complete.

As long as we keep moving, we survive the waves.

And when the storm finally stops,

we find space to rest,

a moment to breathe,

and a place to grow.

Maybe you’ve held something like this too — a shell, a stone, a leaf — and felt a quiet story rise inside you.

If you’d like to give your heart a safe space to explore and write, my Express & Release session offers just that. Sometimes the words come out as a poem, sometimes as just a few simple lines — always enough to lighten what you carry.