SAL/ON

A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures

“Origin Story” by Lucia Santos

Born from island clay
Red and wet, with eyes open
Crawl to a garden
Place me in a bed of ferns
I grow, I am energy.

I’ll tell you of my first time
talking to a plant.
Most was listening.

I swam forever
Because I could, and I had to.
Water carried me.
My fear of the kelp and weeds
receded with each arm’s stroke.


Lucia Santos is a 2020/21 cohort member of the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate program. Performed on the digital stage for a Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Literary Arts Series event with Yaa Gyasi on Monday, November 16, 2020.

Posted in Literary Arts SeriesStudent WritingYouth Poet Laureate2020/21 Season