Poem at the Edge of the World by Julia Caroline Knowlton
Words without ink on paper cloud—
the poem at the edge of the world.
It is the place where land sinks to sea.
Ocean on black rock, ode to you & me.
At this end, every poet becomes a wave.
Then every wave becomes everyone.
Nothing of something—already written,
never to be read. Only snow foam, pearl
eyes, bones coral made. No vanishing
listen, no dead, no day. Silver on silver—
love in love with love, these lines salt spray.
Julia Caroline Knowlton, PhD, MFA, is Professor of French at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. She is a Pushcart nominee and the recipient of an Academy of American Poets College Prize. The author of four books, she was named a 2018 Georgia Author of the Year for her chapbook The Café of Unintelligible Desire. Her poems have appeared in many journals, such as The Roanoke Review and Boston Literary Magazine.