Emma

Clint & Emma Photo by Sydney Keller Photo

 

 

She is a beautiful fragrance

born on the cusp of summer

 

like a flower pressed

to release the heart of a bloom.

 

She holds the charm

of sunlight in her golden-brown hair

 

and the air sparkles around her

smile, and my son’s, delighted to be her groom.

 

Two flames, soon one,

lit since he danced in my womb,

 

with my hand rested there in prayer

for him—she, the answer born of God’s perfume.

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

Photo by Sydney Keller Photo 

 

Perfect timing at What’s Going On? as today is my son’s fiancée Emma’s birthday.

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

 

the home run birthday gift

summer that year was a beauty
dry and hot
we pulled our hair back in ponytails
licked popsicles
and sipped water
in between games
dandelions bloomed like promises
in the outfield

it was better than my first kiss
when i got it
less sloppy,
more dirty—
savored spent-breath,
sweaty, flush, and beaming—
the green gleaming

and i don’t remember 
anything else 
i got that scrap-
book year, except the spotlight 
of my cleats
leaving a dusty outline planted
like petals on home plate 

© 2025 jennifer wagner 

poetic bloomings
shay’s word garden word list
sunday whirl