Beneath her surface lies
Unfathomable truths
Jealousy guarded
Her roaring a warning
That what she takes
Will not be returned the same
All are tithes to the moon-drunk sea
She takes all manner of tribute
Hopes
Dreams
Prayers
Secrets
Grief
Gratitude
Messages
Stone
Glass
Vessels
Bounty
Life
She is not picky
Transmuting all inside her churning depths
Into polished fragments to be left
As glittering pieces amongst the sand
Some emerge as treasure
Others tragedy
Everything transformed
-gws
Poetry is love that
sits unrequited
-gws
Poetry is trapping
nightmares in amber
-gws
Poetry is the doorway
to conversations with ourselves
-gws
Poetry is the freshly dug grave
for what is difficult to bury
-gws
Poetry is the embodiment
of dreams
-gws
In my reflection
A good and loyal person
Looks back lovingly
Happily openminded
And just a little bit weird
-gws
Poetry is breaking dawns
and moonrises
-gws
Poetry is the riverbed
where tears become a torrent
-gws
For every one of you who were denied the opportunity
I will vote
For every one of you who survived as an act of resistance
I will vote
For every one of you who dreamed of freedom
I will vote
For every one of you who died hearing “less than” in your ears
I will vote
For every one of you who had family ripped forever from your arms
I will vote
For every one of you who became strange fruit on a dark night
I will vote
For every one of you who had no say over your body
I will vote
For every one of you beaten, intimidated, or humiliated
I will vote
For every one of you who birthed unwanted children
I will vote
For every one of you who risked death and the law for a choice
I will vote
For every one of you who were victimized without justice
I will vote
For every one of you who dared to dream one of your decedents could be president
I will vote
For every one of you who endured so that I can be here in this moment
I will vote
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 