Ocean [excerpt]
iv.
Our visitors, each framed by one
of the beach chairs, stop
speaking to gasp
at seabirds in liftoff.
Gulls check off a list of clouds to
the west. Cormorants form
broken black lines, move
wagonloads of water and sky,
working with wind
without struggle.
I trust them
with my restlessness.
If I list what I love,
there’s a line for this seascape, its
unfinished thoughts and all we
can agree on.
First—
how well the
four winds describe
the intricacies.
The plovers etch their
whereabouts in wet sand,
scrimshaw lines.
Can you hear how
their circular markings
rhyme?
—Jessica Cohn
From Gratitude Diary, Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Copyright © 2024. Used by permission of the poet. Photo by Noah Boyer, Creative Commons, via Unsplash.
This is exquisite.
Definitely a Buechner and Oliver fan.
Upstream is one of Oliver's I re-read from time to time.
I have several of Buechner's that I revisit.
Valuable writing on writing.