Fluidity

Nezhukumatathil uses evocative and vivid descriptions in her poem “Sea Church” that often resist concrete explanations. Like in many of Nezhukumatathil's poems, nature is a place of reverence and connection for the speaker in “Sea Church.” Nezhukumatathil describes prayer in relation to the sea through a combination of imagery, figurative language, and rhythm. The poetic techniques and thematic concerns in this poem emulate the fluidity of water itself.

Beginning in the first stanza, the speaker asks to be given a church made of salt. The tone in which she delivers this request is forceful, leaving no doubt about her desire. The regular meter in the lines “Give me a church / made entirely of salt” contributes to this assertive but fluid quality. Here, Nezhukumatathil uses consecutive dactyls, which are metrical feet consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. They convey a sense of urgency...