Friendly as a dolphin, the humpback whale swims right up to my husband and me and floats between us, gazing, serene. There’s a message behind this steady presence. We hear it through telepathy—the whale tells us about a pressure point on the back of our heads that’s connected to every part of our bodies. If we touch the point, hold it, healing can take place wherever it’s needed—even beyond the body to our broken planet.

flood tide
a song rises
from the deep

Cynthia Anderson

A California resident for more than 40 years, Cynthia Anderson is the author of 13 poetry collections, most recently The Far Mountain (The Wise Owl Publications, 2024), Arrival (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2023), and Full Circle (Cholla Needles Press, 2022). Her poems appear frequently in journals and anthologies, and her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Cynthia is co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens (Green Poet Press).

Author’s website: www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com