‘Crown of Salt: Amphitrite’s True Tide’
Rashan Speller is a multidisciplinary artist based in Philadelphia, specializing in the fusion of graphic design and photography. A graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia, he has participated in over 20 exhibitions across the city. Drawing from themes of metaphysics, philosophy, and urban life, his work reflects the complexity and spirit of his environment. With over 12 years of experience, Speller continues to produce innovative, thought-provoking pieces that resonate emotionally and celebrate the cultural fabric of Philadelphia.
Crown of Salt: Amphitrite’s True Tide
A Three-Part Poetry Sequence
Daughter of Rippling Halls
Beneath the pulse of opal tides I stir—
Amphitrite, born of Nereid song,
woven from the salt and silver of the deep.
In childhood’s echo, I learned the currents’ secrets:
how to drift through caverns carved by time,
how to cradle wreckage like a lullaby,
and shape my voice from the sea’s soft roar.
Yet on the shore, they called me “only daughter,”
a name half-given, half-appointed by Poseidon’s court—
as though lineage alone could chart my worth.
But shadows move beneath the breast of waves,
and in that undercurrent I found my shape:
not vessel set to bear another’s trident,
but self-awakening, keen as a breaking wave.
I pressed my palm to pearl-slick rock,
and felt the pulse of tides not written in myths—
the tide that calls each heart to rise, to claim
the sovereignty hidden in their own becoming.
Crown of Foam and Becoming
They crowned me queen with corals and kelp,
with starfish glimmering on my breast—
yet even crowns can bristle heavy
against the curve of a self still learning to breathe.
I shed each jeweled ring of expectation,
letting them fall like shells to the ocean floor,
and in that freeing I wove a new diadem:
a wreath of seaweed and moonlit spray,
a testament to the self that blooms in flux.
Poseidon’s roar once shaped the boundaries of me—
a tidal force that could both cradle and command—
but I discovered power in my own current:
the quiet strength of an undertow,
steady as grief, fierce as hope,
pulling me toward depths uncharted.
There, amid phosphorescent blossoms, I learned
that authenticity is not a shore to reach,
but a voyage sung by the self’s own breath.
Return to the True Tide
Now I stand at the rim of endless blue,
Trident at my side, but neither bound nor braced
by others’ expectations of sea-born grace.
My voice is the hymn of crested waves,
my pulse the beat of distant storms.
I call to those adrift on shores of doubt:
“Behold the deep within you—tremor and tide—
every crest a promise, every trough a prayer.”
Authentic self, a vessel ever-shifting,
bore by currents both fierce and tender—
you need not be forged in another’s flame.
Like Amphitrite, rise in your own salt and light:
claim your crown of foam, your gown of spray,
and let the true tide carry you home.
Wednesdae Reim Ifrach (they/them) is an art therapist, counselor, and scholar specializing in gender-affirming care, LGBTQ+ wellness, trauma-informed, and healing-centered practices. As a PhD candidate and full-time faculty at Moravian University, they integrate poetry, visual art, ritual mapping, and mindfulness to create body-positive, client-centered spaces for individuals navigating eating disorders and body-image concerns. Their art-based scholarship includes projects with the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and they developed an online body-image course. They also mentor emerging practitioners in expressive arts therapy and recovery contexts through collaborative networks. Their forthcoming book with North Atlantic Books explores expressive art and somatic therapy for queer body image; they also contributed to *Queer Worldmaking in Art Therapy* (Routledge). Their poetry will appear in an anthology from Beyond Queer Words in December 2025. Across practice, research, and creative work, Wednesdae advances radical self-acceptance and transformative care for marginalized communities.
