This is What the Moon Whispers at Midnight

by Erika Seshadri

I am
betrothed to the tide
through darkness and light
in consequence of
eras, epochs
eons

Over millennia
I’ve watched the argosy
sail forth in brine and solitude
brimming bow to stern
with hiraeth

I’ve witnessed
this century’s secrets
flow like water through gills of
ancient Greenland sharks
to be buried ever
deeper

I move
stony-faced, inured
as ruthless hundred-year storms
rage in succession—
one right after
another

You’ve prayed
for withering waves
among this contrition for decades
but you won’t find
forgiveness
in the sea

Though its rising
is of no concern to me,
I must say, it looks like you could be in trouble now

How Far They’ve Come

when the refugees arrive
let us wash their feet
tenderly
so we can know
how far they’ve come
to stand where we stand,
each tremulous soul.
let us place around their necks
lockets grown from
softness, bursting
with heartbeats
yours, mine, theirs

like brothers and sisters,
mothers and fathers

then we will
flatten our feet
and refuse to become soldiers
until our voices wither
and we become un-

BIO

Erika Seshadri lives in Lamy, NM. She is a 2025 Best of the Net nominee. Her first book, HIMALAYAN TSUNAMI (Memoir; Austin Macauley Publishers; Erika & Niranjan Seshadri), won a 2024 BookFest Award and is currently being adapted for film.