At the Aquarium
Tired of petting sea stars’ sandy backs,
dangling her fingers among anemones,
my daughter points to the octopus.
The hall is quiet, so I dangle her over
the open pool, tip her fingers in.
The octopus, magenta but blanching,
sluices to the far side of her acrylic tank
then back, unfolds three pink tentacles
each thick as my wrist. I tighten my grip
as one brushes my daughter’s thigh, its tip
curling to beckon, come closer. I’ve always
resisted hugging. A therapist could explain
but why? I pull my daughter out of reach
and all three tentacles pause
rebuffed, roll into the water like tide
going out. I wish I’d allowed the embrace,
let my daughter know what it’s like
wrapped in all those arms, the shell of her ear
pressed against the heart, not the one thumping
landlocked in my chest, three wet hearts
willing to risk a world for her.
American Dream
My daughter is flying from Zurich
to Madrid for work, sends a text
to show me the scenery.
Is this pretentious? I won a car
on a game show once, traded it
for a baby grand
though I barely played. My sister
played the trumpet in junior high.
I loved the crushed velvet
lining the case. My mother
paid for groceries one dollar bill
at a time. When I left home
she lost a third of her aid.
My daughter excelled at soccer.
I sold the piano to fly her
to Texas to be seen. She got
the scholarship. I dreamed
of Olympic medals but she
majored in money. My sister
smashed a store window once
for a sandwich. If the retirement fund
fails, my husband and I will starve.
Until then, if I want another piano,
I’ll buy one.
MELODY WILSON Melody is a Pushcart nominated poet whose work appears in One, The Emerson Review, Crab Creek Review, Rust and Moth, and many other publications. Her first collection was awarded the Paul Nemser Prize from Lily Poetry Review and will be published in 2026. A graduate of Pacific University’s MFA program, she lives in Beaverton, Oregon with her husband Phillip and their dog Z. Find more of her work at melodywilson.com.
Read more by Melody Wilson
Author’s Website
Poem in Jacar Press
Poem in Watershed Review
Poem in West Trade Review