Michael Spring


the sound of the ocean

the continuous thrum of the ocean
makes of itself some form of membrane
that has entered the walls of the house

on the dining room table we are
piecing together a puzzle

there are moments we can’t find
a connecting piece and wonder why it isn’t here,
until it is, and each piece
under the ceiling lights appears translucent, cloudy
like the agates we hunt for on the beach

meanwhile bamboo hedges thrash and billow
against the living room window
and a sphynx moth 
who pulls herself from the darkening glass
drifts then flutters towards a lightbulb

the sound of the ocean fills the windows
and the surrounding interior boards of the house
it wicks up from the floorboards into our feet
it rises into our bodies then into our heads

we find ourselves leaning over the puzzle
as we are just now learning how to breathe 
under water




Michael Spring, of Southwest Oregon, is the author of four poetry books and one children's 
book. In 2016 he won a Luso-American Fellowship from DISQUIET Interernational. His poetry 
books have won several awards, including The Turtle Island Poetry Award, and an honorable 
mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. His poems have appeared in Atlanta Review, Crannog,  
Gavea-Brown,  Midwest Quarterly, Poetry New Zealand, and Spillway.  He is  a poetry editor 
for The Pedestal Magazine, and the founding editor of Flowstone Press.
 
 

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