Deb wins Poet Laureate of Mid-Summer Poetry Fest!!
Winning Poem is "Tides". Congrats Deb!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is a gem to savor, poetry lovers:
Tides
Mindless games
of Solitaire and Mahjong -
weak levies
against the turbulent tides
of an incandescent ocean
bursting with life.
Sanity ceases the gentle lapping
on the shores of my memories
as a tempest
threatens to break my grip
from the rocks I cling to.
I lose my grasp
on these thoughts
in a tumultuous
waterspout of words.
Snippets splashed away.
Logic escapes
in churning angst.
Thoughts remain
dancing in kelp gardens
awaiting the next storm.
I welcome the antagonistic,
ireful, rising swell
because I know
when the seas settle
an upsurge of anguish follows.
Then the ocean calms
to reclaim
its rhythmic push and pull
of memories
in tiny grains of sand.
The sunken ships
of my regrets,
recovered in the haunting depths
by luminous corals and tropical fish
wearing stained-glass wetsuits.
Low tide creates
a mirror
on the shoreline,
an orange and yellow sunset
with blushing clouds.
I find a sand dollar
and marvel at its wonder.
Catch a glint of well-traveled sea glass
and appreciate the undercurrents
that smoothed its sharp edges.
An intricate, empty seashell
held to my ear,
I listen to the ocean of my life
echoed back to me,
resonating in my soul.
~Deborah Manning-Galarza
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