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If Only the Sea Could Love a Star

Written for Light Breaks Water

By Stacey Mataxis Whitlow (SMW)Published 6 months ago 1 min read
Runner-Up in Light Breaks Water Challenge
If Only the Sea Could Love a Star
Photo by Oleksandr Brovko on Unsplash

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.

nature poetry

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

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

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    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

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    The story invoked strong personal emotions

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Comments (13)

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  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran6 months ago

    Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊

  • Celestial; well toned with brilliant imagery!

  • Krystiana Lontos6 months ago

    I love the lore threaded within this poem; beautiful and compelling writing.

  • Nancy J. Koch6 months ago

    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.

  • Darkos6 months ago

    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.

  • Salah Uddin6 months ago

    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.

  • Umar Faiz6 months ago

    Dang, whoever made Apollo and Thalassa’s situationship this poetic absolutely deserves a spot on Mount Olympus!

  • Rachel Patterson6 months ago

    This is well done and keeps you engaged. It also allows you to drift as if you are one of the characters.

  • T. Licht6 months ago

    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!

  • Mahmood Afridi6 months ago

    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.

  • Sandy Gillman6 months ago

    I love how you captured the tension between the sun and sea — it feels dreamy and sad in the best way.

  • Susan Payton6 months ago

    Lovely, absolutely beautiful. Nicely Done!!!

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