Issue Forty-Three - Winter 2024

Tide, Be Kind

by Carol R. Sunde

Please return this beached log
loaded with gooseneck barnacles,
back to the sea. See
their writhing necks and fern-like
curling and uncurling cirri
as if in anxious confused plea
to go home—not dry
and die in the inexplicable
harsh sun and sand.
Be merciful. Let
a rogue wave lift and carry them
back to where they belong drifting
awash in cool ocean water.

Copyright Sunde 2024

Carol R. Sunde was born and raised in Iowa, and now lives within walking distance of the ocean in Westport, WA. A retired college counselor (Ph.D. in Social Work), Carol enjoys delving into her lifelong love, poetry. She’s earned a Certificate in Poetry from the University of Washington and her poems have appeared in Passager, The Comstock Review, and Raven Chronicles as well as other journals and on-line sites. Besides reading and writing poetry, Carol enjoys birding, hiking (especially on Mt. Rainier), yoga, watching the sky’s new presentations each day . . .

All work by