Sea Glass Published by Spank the Carp

Following on the heels of National Poetry Month, one of my poems was published May 1 in issue number 50 of the online magazine Spank the Carp. I was especially pleased by the message I received from editor Ken S when he informed me some time back my poem had been chosen.

Congratulations, I've decided to accept your work 'Sea Glass' for publication in SPANK the CARP.

-- Ginger: What a great "total" poem, in that everything about it works toward a single purpose. I loved the ebb and flow depicted in the shape of the stanzas. And the sounds too were well chosen. - Ken

Sea Glass  

A tiny jewel rolls in with the tide.

Before the briny pulls it back

I add it to the kaleidoscope cradled in my hand                        

            algae greens                             

                        whites frothy as foam               

                                      seaweed browns

and one oh-so-rare cerulean blue.

Surf pounds, sunlight dances   

water trickles through my toes               

while I pause to reflect on how long it took

                                    rocks and reef                         

                        salt and sand                            

            wind and waves                      

to smooth and gently etch these crystal gems.

Each fragment harbors the tale

of a vessel and what it might have stowed

before Poseidon’s fork broke it apart

            a lover’s note               

                        Coco’s perfume

                                    Jim Croce’s time       

or plain ol’ backyard beer.    

‘Twas the journey that glorified this glass     

not purpose, nor the one who held it last.

I will wrap these gems in silver and wear them  

                                    in my hair

                        ‘round my neck           

            on my toes       

as treasure discovered on faraway shores.

                                    Ginger Dehlinger