In order to view this poem as the author intended it to appear, we suggest reading it on a computer screen or in the landscape orientation on your phone.

Walking at Dusk
M. C. Aster

through a maze of cattails is a foolish impulse, but
what a surprise to find a hidden dune—a private retreat,
a couch-by-the-sea to share with sandpipers and gulls
skimming the bubbling surf for a sand crab dinner.

In my hands, a small dune daisy foolishly plucked; it’s an
unnecessary killing, a wilting corsage that’s such a trifling
offering to the tide’s splashing majesty. Strange beasts form

in the frothing waves, and foggy apparitions extend their long
arms to snuff out all the stars like candles. I’m caught by
the advancing tide’s dizzying magic—unsure if I should

stay or go. A seaweed bouquet arrives at my feet—is this an
invitation or a rebuff? I whisper my thanks to the Sea Gods
and push the tangle back. Human civilization still beckons—I
struggle back through the cattail jungle—to whatever awaits.

—
M. C. Aster was born in Yugoslavia, lived in Ethiopia as a child, and worked in several European countries. Aster’s diverse background is reflected in her poems and writing, appearing in anthologies and many journals, including Slipstream, Meat for Tea, Phantom Drift, Nine Cloud Journal, Borrowed Solace, Star82 Review, and The Night Heron Barks. Work is forthcoming in WayWords and Painted Bride Quarterly. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2021, Aster lives in Mentone, California, and fosters two endangered Mojave Desert tortoises.

Know anyone who might appreciate reading M. C.’s poem?
Why not share the link to this page?

Have you read these poems:
Harmonize by Cathy Porter
Portent by Andrea Hollander

Table of Contents