Stephanie Burt’s poem, “We Are Mermaids,” has a contemplative tone that provokes readers to consider how nature’s essence intertwines with the human experience. The opening line “The salt of the ocean is always the salt of tears,” establishes a connection between the grandeur of the ocean and human emotions. This interconnectedness between humans and nature is further established in the seventh stanza. The line “You can spend your life benthic, or brackish” invites readers to reflect on the various experiences life offers. “Benthic” refers to the bottom of a body of water while “brackish” refers to water that is a mix of fresh water and salt water. This line proposes that one can live a life grounded in stability, or in a state of ambiguity and change. Burt uses imagery in “Subsisting and even thriving where a fingertip / comes away saline and still refreshing” to explain that there is still sustenance in “brackish” environments. This line explains that one can grow in a state of uncertainty. The word “refreshing” proposes that while it may be challenging to find this wisdom it is also invigorating. The last lines of the stanza, “Exploring the estuary, the submerged lip / and congeries of overlapping shores / on the green-black water, the harbor, the bay,” may symbolize the boundaries between the water and land. “Congeries of overlapping shores” suggests the interconnectedness between nature and humanity— perhaps symbolizing the various life transitions humans experience.

In other words, this poem enables us to consider nature’s fluidity in relation to our own lives. As a college student, I feel that I am in a current state of ambiguity. Burt’s language suggests that we learn from the fluidity in nature. Humans are also a part of nature, and this poem reminds us that we can find wisdom in embracing uncertainties in life and, ultimately, learn from nature’s rhythm.