Sea Glass

by Eliana Wagner

I strive to be like sea glass
Smoothed by tides that beat down
Upon me day after day after day
Instead of cracking under pressure

I will be moved by the waves
Learn to rise with the tides
Shine brighter as time passes
Rest quietly on the shore

The salt and time will smooth my edges
Jagged ends will meet and curve
The pressing pressure of the ocean
Will only polish my surface

But some days I'm just a bottle
Laying lonely by the waves
My cap is lost, my neck is cracked
Cast away from calling tides

But every piece of sea glass
Began when it could break
Before suffering wild oceans
Or learning what it could take

The Lonely Monologue of Charles Collins

by Chana Coughlan

I wonder
As I sit here in my new unfamiliar life
Will I ever settle
When will I be in their lives forever
Nurturing them to bloom like Gentians
Victorious in the heat of melting faith

I wonder
The marigolds that once sang in our backyard
Do they murmur through the decaying roots
Like children trusting their garden

I wonder
As my glass grows beads of water
Wells of dreams
And oceans of potential
Condensating on the side of my glass

I wonder
As I wipe them away
As quickly as I did to them
What does she look like?
What sports does he play?

I wonder
If she has my eyes
If he plays golf
Like my father did with me

Can't find my way through this dimension
So I go on to create new ones
Whiskey
Gin and Tonic
Vodka on the rocks

I wonder
If he still drinks “blue smurfs”
And her, shirley temples, with extra cherries
If she is even old enough to order a drink at the bar?

I wonder
Does the change in time zone
Change my need for commitment
Mountain time is leisurely
And it seems that the sun never sets on the west coast

I wonder
If I'll end up alone
Don't know where I'm going
Will the drink in my glass satisfy me
As deeply as this incessant doubt
Or as widely as their distrust in men

A Trip Down Memory Lane

 

by Yael Spodek

What I would give to be in the sun
With sand clawing my back, sticking to my skin
Almost how you used to be when we had just begun

Salt water tangles my hair, so I put it in a bun
The same as when we played the games you'd always let me win
What I would give to be in the sun

Seagulls caw and peck my food until I'm left with none
But maybe you'd have stayed if I was thin
Almost how you used to be when we had just begun

Sweat drips down my body, "it's so hot, I'm done"
I hear you whisper a reply with a fox's grin
What I would give to be in the sun

Swimming from reality, I know I'm not the one
You ask who hurt me, I don't know where to begin
Almost how you used to be when we had just begun

Seashell fragments cut my feet and I can't run
Whatever I do I'm reminded of you, where have you been?
What I would give to be in the sun
Almost how you used to be when we had just begun

Oh wow, check out this poem...

 I think you will appreciate the sharp imagery of this poem by Rae Armantrout. She's one of my favorite living poets. She's amazing:

https://believermag.com/rae-armantrout-one-thing/

The BenDayans in Morocco

by Erica Sultan

my great-grandmother was named after a girl who was
maimed and martyred.
betrayed by a friend, she was stolen from her home,
left to the whims of a
prideful pasha.
their names are Sol,
and they are the warmth that beams from Tangier's sun.
.
my grandmother was named after hers who was
blamed and battered.
hated by a neighbor, she was evicted from her home,
and remained with her
buried brethren.
their names are Rajmona,
and they are the wind that sweeps Melilla's shore.
.
my father was named after his great-grandfather who was
bruised and butchered.
found not-guilty by an official, his murderer moved into his home.
his death certificate left
spurned, spotless.
their names are Messoud,
and they are the rocks that form Oujda's mountains.