My Life With the Wave

“My Life with the Wave” is a surrealist prose poem written by Mexican poet and author Octavio Paz, first published in 1951 as part of Paz’s collection ¿Águila o sol?. The English translation (Eagle or Sun?) by Eliot Weinberger was published in 1976. Paz’s poetry, essays, and prose frequently underscore Mexican identity, culture, and politics, especially during his time as a Mexican diplomat and ambassador. His travels exposed him to surrealism and existentialism, which had a profound influence on his work that is evident “My Life with the Wave.” This love story explores themes of judgment, emotionality, and the costs of love. Paz received the Cervantes Prize (1981), the highest accolade for Spanish writing, as well as the Nobel Prize in Literature (1990), before dying of cancer in 1998. “My Life with the Wave” inspired a 2004 children’s book of the same name written by Catherine Cowan.

The male narrator visits the sea, and as he is leaving, a single wave “[clutches his] arm” and “[goes] leaping off” to town with him (27). The narrator tries to convince her to return to the sea, but the wave vehemently insists on staying with him.