Poem Of The Week - Summering in Wildwood, NJ by Kayleb Rae Candrilli

You know the drill by now. This week's poem was found by chance on the Poetry Foundation.

Summering In Wildwood, NJ

by Kayleb Rae Candrilli

in a few days, i’ll be on a beach

so bright i can see the sun through my fingers,

each thin vein lit

up blue like a heron’s leg.

this poem is not so much about a beach

as it is about arriving,

blowing stop signs

until the coast affirms

that lines are always changing,

and the tide tells me

my body can morph

as many times as it needs.

I enjoy this poem a lot right off the bad. I think there's a lot of imagery that appears simple but actually has multiple layers.

For example, one of the most striking lines to me is 'so bright i can see the sun through my fingers,/each thin vein lit/up blue like a heron's leg.' I love the idea of lighting up our veins. But aside from the visual aspect, is there something to be said about wanting to feel alive inside ourselves?

A bit of a side note, I also think the line breaks are interesting here. Ending 'each thin vein' with lit and dropping the 'up' to the next line kind of implies using 'lit' like the kids do (this poem is 'lit' etc.)

I also like the way the author 'breaks the fourth wall' so to speak by identifying the poem as a poem.

I think the closing couplet really kind of comes out of nowhere (in a good way). The message promotes body positivity but not in a cliche or 'clickbait' kind of way (which I find some body positivity poems to be). Instead, it's quite introspective. It's not really about accepting overweight people as beautiful, it's acknowledging that no matter who you are, no matter your lifestyle, our bodies change as we get older. I quite like that.

I can't wait to see what you all think!