Quiet Oceans

*Picture is my own*

the tide has exhaled
and left its quiet skin behind
a mirror stretched thin
across the earth
holding the last breath of daylight

clouds gather
like unspoken thoughts
heavy
drifting
unresolved
while the horizon
burns low and steady
a seam of fire
stitched into the dark

foam clings softly to the shore
small constellations at my feet
as if the ocean tried to speak
and forgot the words
halfway through

everything slows here
light
water
even the sky’s breath
until the world
becomes a reflection of something
just about to disappear

17 thoughts on “Quiet Oceans

  1. This is a beautiful piece—delicate, patient, and deeply atmospheric. I love the way you weave together the physical and the emotional, especially in lines like “foam clings softly to the shore / small constellations at my feet / as if the ocean tried to speak / and forgot the words / halfway through.” That sense of near-expression, of a meaning just out of reach, is haunting and perfectly captured.

    The pacing is exquisite; the short, staggered lines and the quiet accumulation of images mirror the slowing of light and water you describe. The final couplet—“the world / becomes a reflection of something / just about to disappear”—lands with a gentle, resonant power. It doesn’t force an answer but instead leaves the reader suspended in that vanishing moment, much like the tide itself.

    Thank you for sharing this. It feels like a place to linger.🤝

  2. Jenn, I wish I could star this poem and photo a million times for each constellation you saw on the beach, star dust sprinkling the shores like glitter – the Milky Way a cluster of sand between your toes. So so beautiful and thought provoking! Thank you for being here and sharing your light so that others can see what you see – it’s a joy to witness greatness. 😊💛🌻☮️

    • Tyler, you always have the most beautiful comments. Thank you for inspiring me to share more like this. I’m honored to be able to share this space with you and to be a part of your bright light. Never change, Tyler ❤️

      • Jenn, thank you! I take pride in the comments I leave. Just as the poet pours their soul into words, I want to pay that energy back through a thoughtful reply. It’s the voice and its echo, the body and its shadow, life mirroring life. Please keep sharing photos and poems, they are the gateway to your heart. ❤️

      • “It’s the voice and its echo, the body and its shadow, life mirroring life.” I love these lines, they are so beautiful and poetic. I do hope to continue to share these ❤️

  3. I love how you capture the intense dance of light and the element of the ocean and frame them to look as if it’s all in harmony when in fact there is so much more. we feel it but what we see isn’t necessarily the entirety of the picture.

    and such is how you weave your words. thank you for the experience of your creativity ❤ Mike

    • “and frame them to look as if it’s all in harmony when in fact there is so much more” You get it and you understand that there is so much more. We feel it, but it’s not everything. Thank you for your lovely words, and for being someone we all need in this life ❤

  4. I remember that day at the beach with you. Seems like it was just yesterday. Is this beach close by? Beautiful words, and exquisite photo. Would be so amazing to print that out on metal and hang it in your livingroom.

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