In this intimate collection of poems, Christina Metaxa explores the delicate balance between drowning and floating, between isolation and connection, between silence and sound. Through rhythmed contemplations of solitude, family bonds, and spiritual questioning, these verses trace the journey from depths of loneliness to moments of transcendent buoyancy. Written in both English and French, with occasional Greek phrases that root the work in its Mediterranean context, Afloat invites readers to navigate the currents of human experience—from the raw edges of personal pain to the gentle lift of hope. Like plankton, which the poet describes as “a drifting jewel of the sea,” these poems drift between darkness and light, always seeking that crucial moment when one chooses to “face up” toward the sky.