below Santa Cruz pier
sea lions arch in barking ardor
he stands knee-deep in water
lobs a cloth package at me
like working women everywhere, I catch
an unwanted surprise that opens
into firecrackers
the yogi winks
story of my life
bamboo poles peek out of the water
deftly arranged nine of dice
I place an earlobe over one
hear arctic ice crack, heralding
summer’s dawning drumbeat
on the pier, pink popsicles lead little girls
linking fingers with moonshine Moms
I drop the firecracker-cloth-package-ball
into salty froth where
it fizzles, sending ripples into fissures
cleaving
us?
I frown, upended, and prostrate myself on a
generous sea that rushes in to fill every
inadequacy
a rakish yogi plays water polo, was published in The Seraphic Review, Issue 3. February 2024
This poem came from a dream that I had. The most vivid part of that dream was the man tossing a bundle of firecrackers at a woman and they are knee deep in water. I can still remember this dream.
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