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.

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