I built you a castle
with my heart in my hands,
but you turned the spade
and plucked it out by the roots.
You didn’t heed
the old gambler’s advice
to know when to hold ‘em.
You thought you’d win,
but we lost
when you folded
the best hand at the table.
I built you a castle,
it was only a little one,
but still.
© 2026 Jennifer Wagner
two images: pixabay.com
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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