Turnstone Sonnet

On such a day, to be beside the sea,
immersed in seafoam rolling up the shore,
and no one walking on the strand, just me,
inhaling nature’s power, nothing more.
Along the coast, the turnstones dip their beaks
into seaweed, fish bones and broken shells;
like Sisyphus, they push and shove and tweak
at pebbles brought in on the ocean’s swell.
I’m not a scamperer on windswept sand,
my skin is freckled and I’ve aching bones;
I’m just a poet with my pen in hand,
imagining I’m turning words like stones.
     Today, I’d love to be beside the sea,
     a turnstone sonnet to keep me company.

Kim M. Russell, 26th April 2025

Image by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

On the 26th day of NaPoWriMo, the daily resource is the online collection of Spain’s Reina Sofia Museum, and the optional prompt is to write sonnets.

Also linked to the dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night on 12th February 2026, where I haven’t shared a sonnet for a while.

54 thoughts on “Turnstone Sonnet”

    1. Thank you very much, Björn. I’m so pleased you liked ,my sonnet, especially as this is your last dVerse hosting before you set off on your epic trek. Good luck and have a blast!

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    2. I just read it, Ron, but couldn’t comment. I love the extended coin metaphor,, the sound of ‘a million billion miles’, like a contemplative mmm, and the romantic second stanza. An accomplished sonnet!

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  21. Kim there is no way a visitor can read your poem without feeling it, visualizing you, visualizing themselves on the beach, walking, exploring … that your sonnet so beautifully described.

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  24. This is absolutely exquisite, Kim! 😍 I love walking on the beach so this poem hit home for me. Especially love; “I’m just a poet with my pen in hand, imagining I’m turning words like stones.” ❤️❤️

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