ANN CHRISTINE TABAKA was nominated for the 2017 & 2023 Pushcart Prize in Poetry; nominated for the 2023 Dwarf Stars Award of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association; winner of Spillwords Press 2020 Publication of the Year; selected as a Judge for the Soundwaves Poetry Contest of Northern Ireland 2023. Her bio is featured in the “Who’s Who of Emerging Writers 2020” and “2021,” published by Sweetycat Press. She is the author of 19 poetry books, and 1 short story book. She lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and four cats. Her most recent credits are: Sand Hills Literary Magazine, The Phoenix, Eclipse Lit, Streetcake Experimental Writing Magazine, Carolina Muse, Ephemeral Literary Review, The Elevation Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Tangled Locks Journal, Wild Roof Journal, The American Writers Review, Black Moon Magazine, Pacific Review, Pomona Valley Review, West Texas Literary Review.
SUNRISE HOLDS MEMORIES
I walk past dawn – feet sinking deep in wet sand.
Salt air fills my senses. Thunderous sound of crashing
waves echo in my head. Southpoint is empty this time
of day – it is mine to absorb. The tide rolls out carrying
expectations on its shoulders. Sunrise holds memories.
I climbed a mountain once – in the Colorado Rockies.
Air thin as a noon shadow – Mt. Sneffles towered above
clouds. Ice axes and canteens escaped, racing down
cliffside along with my dreams. So much snow – the
memory brings a chill on this abandoned day. I become
lost in faces, places, & events that swirl like an eddy
caught beneath the pier. Sunlight makes its entrance.
Beach glass & tumbled shells sparkle in delight. Images
recede – memories are tucked back into a locked
box of time. The sun touches my face & I walk off
to meet my future – dawn following in my footsteps.
- Published by The Wild Word, June 2024
