Slate
washes ashore
with the patina
of old maps of Michigan.
Gulls scream in formation
at the promise of discarded crusts of bread
and fear of oncoming thunder.
It’s late July,
and mist rises,
vaporizing phantom ships in the distance,
veiled,
primordial,
like they’ve been keeping watch
on the shoreline since Moses.
They disappear now
into the space
where land, air, and water meet.
Weather swallowing boats
at the end of the world.
Afternoon at the Beach Before the Storm
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About the Author
Christy Prahl
Christy Prahl is an Illinois Arts Council grant recipient and the author of the poetry collections We Are Reckless (Cornerstone Press, 2023) and Catalog of Labors (Unsolicited Press, forthcoming 2026). A Best of the Net and three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has been featured in Poetry Daily as well as many journals, including CALYX, Sugar House Review, the Penn Review, Salt Hill Journal, Tar River Poetry, and others. She splits her time between Chicago and rural Michigan.
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