"Blue" by Elizabeth Poliner

"Birch Island, Southwest from Lookout Point, Harpswell" by Henry Isaacs

Great Island, Harpswell, Maine

Clear windy day and

the ocean’s waters rush ahead

singing.

In the distance off the low islands

the white splash of waves.

The clouds,

huge white puffs, stationary

in the bluest

air, seem unreal,

as if imported

and tacked up

by some grand producer.

Oh, the blue

we live in, bright sky

blue, glossy silvery

ocean blue—the blue

we’re permitted:

our essential bed,

our daily blanket—

it’s our home, this life in,

through and around

blue—by plan or chance,

by any account

a wonder, a miracle,

day like today,

the water busy,

noisy and constant

as if no amount of praise

were enough

for our blue, brilliant world.

"Blue" by Elizabeth Poliner from What You Know In Your Hands. © David Robert Books, 2015.