Poetry 27
by multiple poets
Spring 2025
Herring eggs on kelp at low tide in Agate Passage. photo by John F. Williams
POETRY 27
by multiple poets
Spring 2025
THE KISS OF SPRING
by Diane Moser
Blazing pink-white
cotton candy trees
dance over sidewalks
and roadside.
They throw their color
like the Hindu festival Holi
announcing spring.
These blooms
paint a picture
of renewal
passed through
the dark of winter.
Another year of life.
herring gathers the world home
here
conjuring bear from her slumber
humpback from warm waters half the earth away
we meet at the salish sea
orca, wolf, gray whale migrations
all calendars converge
with you
come break your winter fast
life bursts forth
satiate your hunger
your insistence life returns
visible from space
frothed turquoise coast
it’s time
golden light refracts through roe speckled kelp
otter slips through emerald fronds
your beaded boon in eager paw
—for now
of all the creatures drawn to feast
the gill-nets
hoard
by Kira Celeste
Bald eagle. photo by John F. Williams
Slow Ripening
by Lucienne Miodonski
The Salish Sea breathes softly,
Its mist a veil upon waters cold,
Where winter lingers, reluctant to loosen
Its grip on the jagged coastline’s hold.
In forests thick with cedar’s hush
The first green whispers dare to rise,
Ferns unfurl in secret spirals,
While moss glows bright beneath grey skies.
Tides lap at shores of stone and shell,
Carving rhythms both ancient and new,
A lullaby to slumbering roots
Where wildflowers dream in muted hues.
The madrona’s bark, peeling and red,
Gleams like embers in the pale light,
Its leaves, steadfast, defy the season,
Keeping faith in spring’s slow flight.
Above, an eagle arcs in silence,
Its shadow gliding through the pines,
While winds weave salt and earth together,
A briny hymn, a soft design.
Then come blossoms, shy and spare,
Wild currant blooms in blush and white,
Soft heralds of a quiet promise
Drenched in the rain’s gentle light.
From tide pools laced with seaweed’s sway
To upland meadows bathed in misty gray,
Spring ripens slowly,
Unveiling a soft display
The Salish Sea, its forests waking,
Hold this rhythm, unhurried and true—
A song of balance, time and wonder,
A whispered spring forever new.
Diane Moser lives on the Kitsap Peninsula overlooking the beautiful Olympic Mountains where a lifetime of observation is reflected in her poetry.
She feels words can connect in a time when we need to hear and understand each other. She hopes you find a sense of connection and shared experience in her poetry.
Kira Celeste, counsellor, writer, gardener, lover of mossy forests, has a PhD in Depth Psychology and is the author of “The Colonial Shadow: A Jungian Investigation of Settler Psychology”. Her work has appeared in Taylor & Francis, Wildfire Words, Duck Duck Mongoose Magazine, and others. She gratefully acknowledges that the land on which she lives and works is the Unceded Traditional Territories of the Qualicum and K’ómoks First Nations. www.drceleste.ca
Lucienne Miodonski is a writer, poet, photographer and active in dog sports. She has a passion for animals and the outdoors and is deeply curious about the natural world. Lucienne seeks to capture the beauty and complexity of nature and draws inspiration from the world around her. Whether crafting poetry, prose or images, she strives to create work that is engaging and resonates with authenticity and a sense of wonder. She lives on Camano Island, overlooking the Salish Sea and the Olympic mountains, with her husband and two dogs.
Issue Page
Table of Contents, Issue #27, Spring 2025
Images of New Life
Images of New Life text and photos by John F. Williams, Spring 2025Salal flowerstext and photos by John F. Williams Spring 2025Here are some Pacific ninebark flowers in their bud stage, in their showy stage, and in their later withering and seed-forming stage....
Springtime Bees
Springtime Bees by Sarah Ottino Spring 2025A ground-nesting bee on some blades of grass. photo by Rich Hatfieldby Sarah Ottino Spring 2025The longer, warming days of spring rouse native bees from their winter slumber. While domesticated European honeybees produce a...
Salish Sea Salamanders
Salish Sea Salamandersin Urban Spaces by Dominick Leskiw and Julianna Hallza, Spring 2025Closeup of the face of a long-toed salamander. photo by Julianna Hallzaby Dominick Leskiw and Julianna Hallza Spring 2025How do long-toed salamander populations (and by extension,...
Spring Aliens
Spring Aliens in the woods by Thomas and Sara Noland photos by Thomas Noland Spring 2025by Thomas and Sara Noland photos by Thomas Noland Spring 2025It’s spring in the woods, and botanical aliens are awakening. They aren’t really aliens — they’re native inhabitants of...
Herald of Spring
Red-Winged Blackbird: Herald of Spring by Lucienne Miodonski Spring 2025Red-winged blackbird among the cattails in a wetland. photo by John F. Williamsby Lucienne Miodonski Spring 2025In the Skagit Valley of the Pacific Northwest, where the northern arm of the Salish...
Artwork 27
by Linda Hanlon Spring 2025This northern alligator lizard lives near me. I am always happy to see them when I find them in my yard. For more about alligator lizards, you might look here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/elgaria-coeruleaTrillium can be...
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