A POEM BY R. STEPHEN
Hand-in-hand, we gaze over the glistening fjord water.
Stepping from the sanctuary of the pine to the pulsing deck below.
Seated at the bow, together we submit to the will of the blue.
A gentle breeze flutters through her hair, creating soft, delicate waves.
Ahead, the weathered fortress walls stand to attention, anticipating our arrival.
Our sweet kin clumsily shifts onto my lap, my arms her shield, her comfort.
I kiss atop the child’s crown and glance at my cherished; meeting her joyful gaze.
My young love nestles closer whilst we gaze upon the beauty before us.
A calm ecstasy ensues.
About This Poem
Herceg Novi: A Moment Held in Stillness
I wrote Herceg Novi to capture one of those rare moments where everything aligns and the world feels gentle for a change. It was a day with my pregnant wife and our daughter, a day where the fjord water glistened like polished glass and the breeze moved softly through her hair. I wanted the poem to feel exactly as the moment felt: slow, warm, and entirely free of worry.
The pine trees, the pulsing deck, the weathered fortress walls waiting ahead. Our daughter shifting clumsily onto my lap, my arms instinctively becoming her shield. The kiss on her crown, the glance toward my wife, the shared smile that said everything without a word. It was a simple scene, but it carried a calm ecstasy I had not felt in a long time. The poem is my attempt to hold onto that feeling, to preserve it exactly as it was.
It is a celebration of family, of anticipation, of the quiet joy that arrives without announcement. A moment suspended above the water, carried by the blue.
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