If Only the Sea Could Love a Star
Written for Light Breaks Water
A beam of light—
a golden breath,
a whisper of want,
a slip of gold
skimming across the water.
Apollo leans in,
trembling softly,
fingers outstretched
to light Thalassa’s
glass-like skin.
The primordial sea shivers,
curves upward toward the sky—
memories stirred:
not of storms or sunrises,
but of a time before time,
when the gods knew no names.
Now—
a young warrior whispers
where titans once roared,
his warm light a question
echoing within
the ocean’s darkened heart.
So close, so fleeting—
his voice now fractures
Along the long-forgotten ripples
of her restless, broken heart.
A hush. Then:
a soft exhale from her lips—
like a breath held too long—
spills forward:
light splintering —
not enough to break the surface—
just enough to shimmer along her skin
illuminating everything once again.
Sun and tide,
briefly aligned,
stirring an ancient rhythm:
the push, the pull,
the ache.
Two fundamental elements,
drawn together,
and constantly separated
by the horizon’s interference.
So when they are parted once again—
as they must always be—
each is transformed
each is left aching.
Leaving behind a part of themselves,
A trace of what was,
a tremor of what could be.
If only the sea could learn
to love a younger
shining
star.
About the Creator
Stacey Mataxis Whitlow (SMW)
Welcome to my brain. My daydreams are filled with an unquenchable wanderlust, and an unrequited love affair with words haunts my sleepless nights. I do some of my best work here, my messiest work for sure. Want more? https://a.co/d/iBToOK8
Reader insights
Nice work
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The story invoked strong personal emotions


Comments (13)
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Celestial; well toned with brilliant imagery!
I love the lore threaded within this poem; beautiful and compelling writing.
Wow, your writing really pulled me in from the very first line! Your voice is so unique and powerful. Do you happen to have any published works on Amazon? I’d love to explore more of your content.
Beyond beautiful so amazing to read and often experience in reality Congratulations on such a fabulous Top poem of the month 🌞🌞🌝🌸😊⭐🌚💜💪❤️💥👌🌕
This was absolutely luminous. The imagery danced like sunlight on waves—tender, aching, timeless. You captured the tragedy and beauty of impossible longing so perfectly. A quiet masterpiece.
This is breathtaking. The imagery is delicate yet powerful, evoking the quiet ache between sun and sea, light and longing. The way you capture the eternal dance between Apollo and Thalassa—tender, ancient, and tragically unreachable—feels both cosmic and deeply human.
Dang, whoever made Apollo and Thalassa’s situationship this poetic absolutely deserves a spot on Mount Olympus!
This is well done and keeps you engaged. It also allows you to drift as if you are one of the characters.
this is so beautifully, I'm awed how the entire poem, I'm thinking of a couple and then at the end also describes the star and sea. Masterful!
This poem feels like the sea whispering its secret yearning to the sky — a silent love that’s vast, patient, and impossibly untouchable. Your words shimmer with longing, painting cosmic loneliness in tides of golden breath. It’s a tender ache I didn’t know I held until now.
I love how you captured the tension between the sun and sea — it feels dreamy and sad in the best way.
Lovely, absolutely beautiful. Nicely Done!!!