
A resident of Connecticut and a lover of all things…
A buoyant whirl of catkins
and glossy leaf, thick as
language, seeking to sweeten
the sharp tang of decay and
salted air. but even you, bog
myrtle, cannot decide if you’re
a creature of air, earth or water;
you’re tangled hamlet seems to
drift just above the water-line,
serving as a bulwark – a blue-
green plume that’s near-enameling –
and holding onto this strip of land
and your feral necklace of shells,
bones, paper and glass, at least until
the advancing swell of tides loosens
your muddy belt, amputates the
luminous clay and you become a lush,
lopsided bounty for water after all.

A resident of Connecticut and a lover of all things chocolate, John Muro has authored two volumes of poems — In the Lilac Hour and Pastoral Suite — in 2020 and 2022, respectively. A third volume — A Bountiful Silence & Other Poems — will be published this year. Since the publication of his first book, John has been thrice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, twice nominated for the Best of the Net and, in 2023, he received a Grantchester Award. His work has appeared in such literary journals as Acumen, Delmarva, Grey Sparrow, Hyacinth Review, Moria, River Heron, Sky Island and the Valparaiso Review.