Coaxed by the garish sheen
of Versailles gold that’s coating
the near horizon, I take the day’s
final hour out walking with no
assurance of return. I’m falling
east heading towards that healing
space where sea and salt marsh
marry and a path of crushed shells
rises from water to where wind
combs the leaves of wind-spun
trees with branches entwined,
some leaning sideways as if they
are preparing to resurrect a moon
that remains hidden from view or
perhaps they, too, are eager to bury
a season’s worth of burdens in a
damp coffer of silt, continuing on
with this broken life as silently as
the channels that run past shuttered
cottages leading into reed pools
where, weighted with salt, they
leisurely spool for a time, like
pebble-struck rings, and then
feign rest, provoking an uneasy
pause where one can still sense
the slow leaking of sound and the
absence of so much more than light
while now-distant tides fall away
in a tremulous thinning like a grief
that’s been graciously erased only
to return with a widening emptiness.
Looking for more poetry? You’ll find plenty more at the MockingOwl Roost!
A native of Connecticut, John’s professional career has been dedicated to environmental stewardship and conservation. In the Lilac Hour, his first volume of poems, was published in fall 2020 by Antrim House and is available on Amazon. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous literary journals, including River Heron, Euonia, Sheepshead, Moria, Willawaw, Writers Shed, and The French Literary Review. He is also a two-time nominee for the 2021 Pushcart Prize.
John and his wife, Debra, live on the Connecticut shoreline and they enjoy travel, kayaking, and spending time with friends and family. John has a life-long passion for art, music, and all things chocolate.
You may follow John on Instagram.