One More Wave, the nonprofit that provides wounded and disabled military veterans with customized surfing equipment and community, recently launched Salt Speak, a new space for creative writing. The first installment is an incredibly powerful and poignant poem written and performed by Ranger medic and poet, Leo Jenkins.
“We don’t want to be a Sarah McLachlan charity,” Salt Speak editor-in-chief G.P. Scheppler told Coffee or Die Magazine. “We want people to see what we are doing and say, ‘I want to be a part of that!’”
With a lineup of accomplished veteran poets and writers already in the tube, Salt Speak aims to make waves in the veteran art space.
Jenkins’ ode to One More Wave is overlaid with a gorgeous video edited by Nick Betts, with amazing footage of Jose Martinez, an Army veteran, triple amputee, and adaptive athlete crushing waves with his custom surfboard. We dare you to watch this transcendent production and not be moved.
Read Next: One More Wave: The Navy SEALs Helping Disabled Veterans Heal with Custom Surfboards
Mac Caltrider is a senior staff writer for Coffee or Die Magazine. He served in the US Marine Corps and is a former police officer. Caltrider earned his bachelor’s degree in history and now reads anything he can get his hands on. He is also the creator of Pipes & Pages, a site intended to increase readership among enlisted troops. Caltrider spends most of his time reading, writing, and waging a one-man war against premature hair loss.
