Sara Teasdale’s “Sea Longing”, the sonnet on which this piece is based, describes a complex and layered yearning for the ocean. Her words express a deep desire to be enveloped by the sea, yet it remains ambiguous whether she longs for serenity or, quite differently, wishes to be carried beneath the waves. The juxtaposition of death and beauty, loneliness and desire, is a hallmark of Teasdale’s poetry. Many of her poems convey an awestruck wonder at the natural world—a beauty that is as heartbreakingly overwhelming as it is life-giving.

Having spent my childhood on a Pacific Northwest island, I resonate with Teasdale’s longing for the steady, immutable sea now that I live inland. This choral setting of “Sea Longing” traces the ocean’s many moods—from its still and peaceful opening to a brooding piano interlude and the rolling, wave-like phrases of the climax, which gradually drift back into stillness. The character of the music evokes Teasdale’s mingling of dark undertones and a surface of light, much like the shimmering sea.