Swans Commentary » swans.com February 27, 2006  

 

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by Laura Madeline Wiseman

 

Poetry

 

 

(Swans - February 27, 2006)  
You took me to the sea

but I'd been there before

even with you once.

The sea is too big for me.

I only put toes in

and shivered on the pier

as men with hooks thrust out.

You tried to tell me about books

on the sea, but I'd read them all

and wouldn't have any of it.

I couldn't have a thing

that shouldn't be

floating by like yellow foam.

The sign by the seal pups

said the waters were foul

and we could die as the mammals

itched the salt from themselves.

I said, you go in and swim,

but by then I'd convinced you

it was opaque and deep and no one

really wanted to know what was there.

 

 

"The sea! the sea! the open sea!" Starving poets for Swans

Internal Resources

Poetry

America the 'beautiful'

 

About the Author

Laura Madeline Wiseman is an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona. Her works have appeared in 13th Moon, The Comstock Review, Paper Street, and other publications. She is an editor for IntheFray and Empowerment4Women.

 

Legalese

Please, feel free to insert a link to this work on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge, or repost this work on the Web or any electronic media. Inlining, mirroring, and framing are expressly prohibited. Pulp re-publishing is welcome -- please contact the publisher. This material is copyrighted, © Laura Madeline Wiseman 2006. All rights reserved.

 

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