1
along the edge
where river after river, cove and forking
confuse and disguise without end
each minaret has a name, often two
a badge
capped by a dome
a green-copper half-moon
above glass and the flash
or a triangular
arrowhead pointing to Heaven
the occasional towers standing in pairs
are to be read as eleven, rather than two
in the mathematics of waves
along Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Cape Elizabeth
2
token of peril
crag and sandbar
a warning
to welcome
a warning
acknowledging most shipwrecks
occurred within sight of shore
however deceptive the calm
3
a preference for lighthouses on craggy sites
to those on lawns or hillocks
still all stand
arrayed as white prayer flags along the coast
these relics, in time
all fall away
as we journey
Poem copyright 2016 by Jnana Hodson
To see the full set of seacoast poems, click here.
Jnana's Red Barn 