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it’s as if you’ve been here
my whole life long
threading moonlight
through my veins
us—
blushing strawberry,
palm-damp,
the first long kiss of summer,
electric-sweet,
buzzsoft cricket symphony,
ostinato, silvery
smooth-ending
the longest day worth waiting for
© 2026 jennifer wagner
poetic bloomings 599: the first day of summer/the longest day of the year (summer solstice)
for ian
More river than ocean.
Not so much Tesla as diesel.
It’s more dirt and resilience
than computers and rain.
It’s a little like
the B-side cut on a 45,
not sounding much like the band
you know at all.
But like a fraternal twin,
you can see the resemblance
in certain light. And it is light—
named for the “Children of the Sun.”
It’s the birthplace of Father’s Day, 1910,
by a woman named Sonora Dodd.
And me.
Which now feels
like a prophecy
of where I am meant to be
as I write this poem,
from the Sonoran Desert,
in the Valley of the Sun,
just before Father’s Day.
It’s true what they say—
you can leave places,
but your heart never leaves home.
© 2026 Jennifer Wagner
Note: My birthplace, Spokane, WA, is on the “other side” of Washington state and is very different from rainy Seattle. Where I now live in Arizona suits me like a midsummer day.
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It’s amazing how waves
crash the shore
but leave behind
a silky beach—
smoothed,
the rubble rinsed away.
So here I am, as I am,
fretful, storm-tossed, casting my cares
like a net into the crest
of your promise to care for me,
and land in the smooth sanctum
of your peace.
© 2026 Jennifer Wagner
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7