At Low Sun
I stand before the wetlands
where the panting winds
dust salt from my skin
seeking redemption
Try as I may I fail
to reconcile the communion
between the bay channels I sailed
as a boy and the brown sand bars
on which I find refuge
Tomorrow a soft rain will moisten
the tangled peat gone dry
and hard between flood tides
and low water
Now the flat bay
soaks up the indigo sky
and I watch the osprey
return with a slice
of the silver sea
Jack J. Chielli is a writer living in Frederick, Maryland. He has an MA in poetry from Wilkes University and a BA in Writing from Roger Williams University. He was editor of his collegiate literary magazine, Aldebaran. Jack worked as a journalist and bureau chief before taking a position as communications director for the Allegheny County Controller’s office. He has been working in higher education for the last 25 years for both a community college and several universities. He is currently vice president of enrollment management, marketing and communications for Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland. His poetry has been published in the Martin Lake Journal, Schuylkill Valley Journal and Coal Hill Review