‘I Am the Undertow’, ‘My Memories Live in Ashtrays’, ‘The Sand That I Am’, ‘Serene Storms’
Photographer - Tobi Brun
I Am the Undertow
The birds sing above me
urging I retreat
as I swim breaststroke
in a river
that cannot project me
forward
In my peripheral vision
I notice her
diving beneath the surface
plunging deep into
temptation
before reasoning
can circle overhead
I do not swallow
more than a mouthful of air
before I find myself
barreling down her trajectory
abandoning my
airborne adversaries
Submerged in the passion
of my pursuits
the song of the warblers
is drowned out by
the sloshing of seduction
relentless in its efforts
to overwhelm my eardrums
My Memories Live in Ashtrays
In the comfort
Of my living room
I light up
Might as well
Inhale these toxins
To rid myself of
Others
With each drag
There is a greater
Demand to
Withdraw
But I must
Poison the grief
That sits
In my lungs
A tray beside me
Holds discarded ends
Of recollection
There they live
Trapped in soot
Covered creases
A reminder of
Memories that
Never finished
Burning
The Sand That I Am
It is sand that
Rains down glass
The beads
Of an hour
Dropping to
Their death
As am I
For I too
Am sand
Measured by
The minute
Often stuck
In unreachable
Crevices
Once I was
Stone
But I was
Broken down
Weathered
For the better
I am still unsure
It is sand that
Serves
As a vessel
For rebirth
Is this
The sand
That I am
Serene Storms
I awake to
summer’s storm
pecking at my window
in the early hours
of morning before
the sun tries to
peek from behind
clouds concealing
its shine. A calm
washes over with
the rain tapping
on roof shingles,
creating a concord
that coincides with
rumblings of the earth.
There is no light aside
from brief illuminations
casting shadows
of shaking trees
on shutters bearing
the wind’s rage.
Calamity prevails
outside, but within
my heartbeat settles.
I am delighted by
this interlude.
Alyssa Troy is an English teacher in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She received her B.A. from Rider University and has an M. Ed. from both Cabrini and Eastern University. Her poems are published or forthcoming in Blue Unicorn, Cool Beans Lit, In Parentheses, 300 Days of Sun, The Road Not Taken as well as other journals and magazines. She is the author of Transfiguration (2020).
