Late to Low Tide by Nina Burokas
Poetry
i She is late to low tide, lulled by a series of minus tides. Holding, still, to the lingering ... seemingly endless low tide, a multitude of tidepools and a second string of beaches. A leisurely walk from Chetzemoka to Fort Worden and back. With time, yet, to gaze into the distance: a skyline of the Cascades, anchored by Mt. Baker. At her back: sandstone cliffs, collapsed – their inhabitants evicted, amidst the tempest of storm and King Tide, when the known is no more. There is only the rush of wings, the assault of saltwater and debris, as the sea reclaims its birth. ii She has come to charge her Tarot cards: a Lilith deck, images drawn from the subconscious, symbols familiar from dreams. A deck with a subtle reordering Ace … King, Queen. She lays the deck on a table of driftwood, a relic polished by surf and time. Her birth cards are 6 and 15 – The Lovers and The Devil – choice and freedom from ego, a doubling of will. The first card she draws is her current situation: The Ace of Swords – focus and forward momentum. The next two – representing obstacles and action – are also Sword cards. She considers, but dismisses the result as an inadequate shuffle. As a story that requires editing. iii She turns to a whoosh of air … a Great Blue Heron, whose fight seems improbable; and yet, in motion: liquid majesty. In the cliff face, she notices two fresh excavations that could be Kingfisher nests. Dare she hope? And what is hope? The last of the evils in Pandora’s box. Damned and damned again. She shakes her head, recalling John Trudell’s “Hope is waiting to be served.” The tide has turned, waves lapping at the walkway. She selects a few rocks to help hold the charge – collecting carefully – nothing that is a home to something. Aren’t we all beings becoming?
About the author: Nina Burokas is a writer and educator living on Quimper Peninsula, the ancestral home of the Chemakum people in Washington State. Her poetry appears in Port Angeles Fine Arts Center’s Webster Woods Sculpture Park, The Madrona Project anthology "This Machine is Made for Earth", "Inspired by Art" and her chapbook, "Wintering". She frequently reviews books for Raven Chronicles. An adjunct business instructor at Mendocino College in California, Nina has been a contributing author/editor for five digital business titles.