We see a little farther now and a little farther still-C.D. Wright
*
I ask the rain to remit, but not because I am ungrateful
A raincheck for the rain-is such a thing possible?

In Florida, even the cold is warm by comparison
We sit at the ocean's lip as it licks the sand from our toes

Consider instead-the terrifying beauty of alternative
*
I ask the sun to pumice our faces, blind us humble and good
Incumbent sun, so long accustomed to winning the stars' wars

Consider although-like trying to whistle with a mouth full of Saltines
We only know what we know
We only see what we see

*
I ask the space to persist after the hyphen that separates
Birth from death, to leave the parenthesis like a gap tooth

Then to no one in particular, I say: What age is not a tender age?

*

This hapless haptic misses her Blackberry
Such tender buttons, were they not?
The tiny Underwood slick inside her pocket

*

I ask the lifeguard not to hang the purple flag
For jellyfish and sting rays and the floating terror

Imagine if that were your name!

Also answers to: bluebottle, Physalia physalis, man-of-war


*
Consider except-Luminara of a word-bag of sand with a light inside
Synonym for human perhaps?
*
I am not opposed to the idea of being lost-
like the red balloon, Mylar with a silver underside-
buoyed along these stubby waves


Consider forever-which is a trick command

A seagull tugs the string of the beached balloon
You see it more clearly now: a webbed design, the visage of Spiderman

*

When the rain comes, it is warm kisses, little white beads

Grown-ups stick their tongues out like children do
It's not over till it's over-and then, too soon


About this poem
-Julie Marie Wade

About Julie Marie Wade

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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.

(c) 2016 Julie Marie Wade. Originally published in Poem-a-Day, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate