Adagio
by Alexandra Grant
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
A glistening, living body
Sings a never-ending adagio
Lulling anxiousness into dreams
A gentle alarm to wake from slumber
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
Melodic and hypnotic
She soothes a weary spirit
A calming salve
For scalded lives
S-w-i-s-h
S-w-u-s-h
Depths of abyssal waters
That house Leviathan
Whisper from the darkest trenches
I want to reach the shore
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
Movements ebb and flow
A dance of rolling swells to songs
Propelling eternal rhythms
Only she hears and understands
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
Closer she comes, seeking land
Hues lighten to bathyal blue
Poetry in motion, shifting time and space
To words she never speaks aloud
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
S-w-e-l-l
S-u-r-g-e
Mesmerizing and hypnotic travels
Closer to the object of her desire
Focus, always singular and determined
Churning, mesopelagic ink to indigo
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
Depths meet the sun’s light
Warmed surface layers smile
In their pleasure, metamorphosing
Into epipelagic hues in cerulean blue
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
Currents, pulling further inland, still
Make way toward what is sought
Dancing, singing, alluring mankind
This beautiful siren, of legend
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
H-e-a-v-e
W-h-i-r-l
The sea’s toes touch the sand
Her nature is now a playful tease
Light turquoise waters lap the shore
Pull back in gentle mocking
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
She’s traveled far to greet the longing
Needing respite from life’s chaos
Come touch my tickling fingers
Listen to my enchanting song
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
You want to refresh and forget
Need a reprieve from current events
Heal all the gashes and wounds
I am what you seek, your rest
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
S-w-u-s-h
S-w-i-s-h
My dance will transfix your mind
Whispered serenades inspire poetry
I’ll drown out the world’s noise
Caress your spirit, leaving you reborn
Alexandra Grant, a writer from Wichita, Kansas, turns everyday chaos into poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, leaving spilled ink from her writer’s quill. Her online work appears in Grand Dame Literary Journal, Quillkeepers Press, The Write Launch Literary Magazine, Half and One, Hare’s Paw Literary Journal, Write Pittsburgh, and more. She shares her musings on Vocal, Medium, Substack, Beehiiv, and WordPress. Her print work appears in Poet’s Choice, Wingless Dreamer, College of Western Idaho’s Stonecrop Magazine, Moonstone Arts Center, and more.