Sea Sonnet

between one jetty and the next the suck
of sea. brown recompense. for what. who knows.
above gulls’ gray arithmetic. what slows
the tired waves. a moon or coin half-struck
or stuck between stone heaps. rough currency.
one tide, the next, all lapping tongueless change.
sun bricked on land. no next thing to arrange.
I like it here. this tuneless frequency,
an ear—somebody’s—tipping a thin shell
to catch, to spill. the salted page. a line
let out. dark ink, creased brow, no way to spell
what water wears. out or away. define
the curve, arise, defend—but no. the swell
arrives. blank mouth, hard-scoured jaw. be brine. 

KATHERINE TUNNING

Katherine Tunning lives in Boston with her partner and a highly variable number of cats. Some of her recent poetry and fiction has appeared in Arc Poetry Magazine, Prime Number Magazine, The Penn Review, and Washington Square Review. You can find her online at katherinetunning.com.