So much happens in the backbeat. In music, the backbeat is a place for discovery, improvisation, and connection. What happens in the backbeat of human experience-a rich life beyond our initial surfaces? What do we discover and create when we attend to this space? What happens when we examine it and open it to others? Backbeat Ocean invites the reader to join a poetic dive and subsequent rise through this unspoken space as through the five oceanic zones. The journey begins in the Sunlight Zone and progresses through each zone until we confront darkness in a descent to the Hadal Zone. An alchemical turn guides the ascent back through the zones arriving in the Sunlight Zone once again, having changed from the journey. Collectively, these poems intersect self-discovery, relationships, nature, trauma, and daily life in a tensive, philosophical, and vulnerable journey. They discover connection through the power of plunging into an existential tapestry-embracing it all, putting it into place, and recognizing the depth that exists in being human. Individually, each poem builds on the one before and guides the reader through a vast ocean. From simple moments that leave space open to structured escapades that capture chaos and larger systems, these pages seek authentic discovery on the path to meaning. Backbeat Ocean integrates vulnerability, confusion, contemplation, and strength. The collection speaks to the complexity and richness of the life that exists around and inside us, in the backbeat.