The Pacific Ocean

Relationship to place plays a crucial role in the poems in "Envelopes of Air," and “Sometimes I Think My Body Leaves a Shape in the Air" is no exception. The speaker hones in on the details of her surroundings, describing the “planet-like” land and seascape of the Pacific Ocean. The distinction between land and water blurs when everything becomes aquatic (3). The speaker also cites this setting as adjacent to her place of origin, meaning that it is an inherent part of who she is.

The Speaker's Imagination

The speaker equally presents close observations of her external surroundings and imagined possibilities of existing in a different form. For example, she instructs the addressee to “Imagine the body free of its anchors, / the free-swimming, / a locomotion propelling us, pulse by pulse” (13-15). In this way, Limón characterizes imagination as a collaborative act.

Another description in the poem...