Laura Rodley, a Pushcart Prize winner, has been nominated for the prize seven times and has also received five Best of the Net nominations. Her recent works include Turn Left at Normal (published by Big Table Publishing Company), Counter Point (published by Prolific Press), and Ribbons and Moths: Poems for Children (published by Kelsay Books). 

With a talent for capturing the essence of life, Rodley’s writing resonates with readers of all ages. Whether exploring the natural world or delving into human emotions, her words evoke a sense of wonder and connection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PClY8G6HQwk

Five Years Old

The whole Atlantic coast in my home,
Rehobeth my first true love,
her washing machine waves tumbling me,

sand gathered in lumps in the bottom
of my bathing suit—the waves tried to teach me
not to breathe underwater but I did,

emerging on my hands and toes, breathing
through my mouth and nose, undeterred
by the water’s force, or the sharks

that my father had no fear of:
You can step on the nurse shark’s nose
in the shallows, he said;

if you see one, they’re sleeping.
When did they wake up,
I wondered.

And the push-me pull-you of daughterhood
peppered the white sand: now you see him,
now you don’t, his tall broad shoulders

high above the others, burning red
on the edges, but he ignored it,
as he swam out beyond the breakers,

out beyond the cries of the lifeguards
to come back in, – there are sharks—
that he also ignored,

out beyond the furthest-out swimmers
who were swimming back in,
out to the quietness of the sun

burning his shoulders and my hands
as I held tight to his shoulders,
skimming the water.