Solanna would take them 
all down to the seashore,

walking a little ahead of them always.

At the shore, she would stand 
all day, looking out to sea.

Sometimes, she would 
let out a piercing cry

and the children 
would cover their ears.

They didn't know that 
far out under the waves,

Solanna could see 
the dark shape of her mother

and was calling to her in the scraps 
of seal language she still remembered.