Soft as the Salt of the Sea (a Sevenling)

 

He sweeps back my tangled mess of hair,

kisses my neck and murmurs,

you taste like the sea.

 

My mermaid net collects this pearled moment,

like shells, like beach glass, in a jar on my desk,

soft-colored and smooth to the touch,

 

pressing them into a poem-cup, like a sip of the sea.

 

 

© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

Poetic Bloomings: Collections & Gatherings

 

Staying Afloat

Words like whirligig,

puzzle,

firestorm,

words for the day,

sit on my couch

in cozy pajamas

sipping hot tea.

Bring pillows, they say,

and candles.

These lights hurt our eyes.

Noisy seabirds duck and dive

a cove somewhere outside.  Waves

crash the shore.

I listen hard for the music

of salt and driftwood—

for words like ebb,

buoyed,

float.

                                                    

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you…” Psalm 55:22.

© 2016 Jennifer Wagner