Lifeboat

In the storm-driven sea where towering waves

threaten to swamp and drag the spirit from my

body I cling to the words of Angelou, Adrienne,

Joy and Fannie all the phenomenal women

who survived like children in a basket cast upon

terrible waters.

I am far from home

I am disavowed

I am exiled

My tiny boat is packed with 163 poems

ghost beacons from a poetry podcast

expired since 2023 still the words are a light

as bioluminescence from the tiny screen

aglow and these verses traced upon my face

do sustain me down the trough and rising crest.

I am a dove

I am an olive branch

I am a promise