Driftwood 

What do you pack when you are leaving land

to submerge in wet depths a young girl should 

not understand?  Band upon your left hand,

stone serpentine, sea green lace dress, driftwood

valentine whittled by grandfather when 

you were a child — Norse legend says humans 

were hewn, ash and elm drifting wild in wind

whims, waves of Nordic seas.  Attention span

then inhibits these childhood memories.

Believe your heart might also be reclaimed 

by oceans you can’t even name — flighty  

student of geography when you were tame. 

What is the etiquette sixteen feet down? 

What do you wear when you’re going to drown? 

Kristin Garth is the author of 17 books of poetry including Flutter Southern Gothic Fever Dream, The Meadow and Candy Cigarette Womanchild Noir.  She is the Dollhouse Architect of Pink Plastic House a tiny journal and has a weekly sonnet podcast called Kristin Whispers Sonnets.  Visit her site Kristingarth.com and talk to her on Twitter @lolaandjolie