From the crushing comfort of the womb-dark ocean, the poems in Francesca Marais’ Emerge rise to the surface and breathe deeply. Blood surges through my body, / Refusing to gently creep into the shores / Of my heart’s quiet, she says. Untangling the tentacles of family and romance and imagination, the poet carries the reader along on a journey toward self-love and acceptance. Her advice to us? Cherish then savour / The salt of the pain, / Lick your fingers dry. Salt of tears, of stinging wounds, of breaking waves-to know the self requires all of these. There is ache here, but also nourishment. Emerge shows us how to stop holding our breath; how to see our own reflection in the ocean’s blue eyes.