5 Poems by Samantha Terrell

Saltspray

where you’re dying
by the ocean,
your dogs run
on the beach, unawares.
it saddens me to
think of them
looking for you
after you’re gone.
maybe they will know
you’re still with them
in the saltwater spray –
peace on the wind.


Pull

how many prayers
must it take
in the presence of now –
with so much at stake –
to gather enough grace
from prior times, to
launch redemption
into what’s to come?
pray in the present,
so spirit past can run ahead
to save us from
our future dreads.
draw down
benevolence
to learn the miraculous.


Does the Sun Begrudge the Moon?

rotation reels from feeling free
spinning as it does in this galaxy.
pushing away, pulling towards,
guided astray, brought on board
this concept art of existence –
drowning and being rebirthed; transition on transition.
lacking structure, all is spirit rising, falling –
yet we poets choose the moon, over sun's certain calling.


Outlasting Our Demons

from your rickety treehouse, miles from solid ground,
i see the folly our ways, the stilt-like structure we're behold to.
you've built layer upon superficial surface, upon pretend platform,
expecting everyone – everyone – to trust its false integrity.
we don't (if we ever did). but we're obligated to climb higher for now,
hoping the next story will hold together better than the last.
of course you appear on every level, ready to gloat,
anxious to disrupt, giddy at the prospect of our certain demise.
i'm holding on, making unexpected allies, forcing myself to believe the
earth will rise to meet our feet when you and your shoddy frame, fall.


The Power in What We Cling To

having beaten our
swords into ploughshares,
we discovered,

too late,

we're at war.
having laid down our weapons,
picked up our pens,
we discovered,

too soon,

few will listen
to our warnings
sounded with great care.
but having lost these many battles,
wrung our hands in despair,
we may discover,

in time,
what matters is to what we cling.
to hope, and hope, and hope,
might be just the thing.


Bionote

Samantha Terrell is an American poet and author, and the editor of SHINE international poetry series. Her multiple collections, most recently Delta Function (Alien Buddha Press, 2024), have consistently earned five-star reviews, and her poems have been widely anthologized in publications such as: Door=Jar, Eunoia Review, Green Ink Poetry, In Parentheses, The Orchards Poetry Journal, and others. Terrell and her family reside in Upstate New York. Find her online at: www.SamanthaTerrell.com.