The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Nezhukumatathil, Aimee. "Sea Church." Oceanic (Copper Canyon Press, 2018).

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

In her poem "Sea Church" as well as the collection Oceanic as a whole, Nezhukumatathil explores the relationships between nature, writing, and identity. Born in Chicago to a Filipina mother and a South Indian father, Nezhukumatathil often writes about the intersections of Filipino, Indian, and American cultures. She has stated in interviews that she strives to make the outdoors a more inclusive place for people of color. She also recalls rarely seeing Asian Americans pictured outdoors in any media during her childhood, and she sought to address this through her own work.

The speaker in "Sea Church" figuratively evokes her devotion and praise as a "water-prayer" (16). She wishes to deeply experience the world, allowing the outdoors to leave a mark on her. Overall, Nezhukumatathil characterizes the natural world as a place of worship.