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Rate this poem:5.0 / 4 votes
You send
your flimsy, fragile
paper boat to float
again–
another promise
drifting out to sea.

How carefully aligned
your every crease,
each fold, with colors
bold and bright enough
to fool me once
a thousand promises
ago.

Such delicate design–
all edges crisp, a vessel built
with such precision, built
to skirt, to skim the surface, built
to seem
more than it is.

Yet, to dissolve, it takes
only a brush, a drop
of rain, a ripple's touch,
a breath– to sink
straight to the bottom
of an ocean, stripped
of color.

Your weightless word
will never know
the wind–

a paper promise
crumbles
in the breeze.
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Submitted by JessicaWheeler on November 06, 2024

36 sec read
70 Views

Jessica Wheeler

Jessica Wheeler is a writer and poet from Branford, Connecticut, where she resides with her husband and two young daughters. Her creative journey began at a young age, with a strong foundation in music and performing arts. Today, Jessica is an active poet on numerous platforms. Her work has been published in several poetry anthologies and on websites dedicated to the complexities of loss and grief. more…

All Jessica Wheeler poems | Jessica Wheeler Books

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Discuss the poem Paper Promises with the community...

3 Comments
  • Symmetry60
    Gorgeous poetry here, Jess. You seem to be a schooled poet? If not, it's impressive how your mind works.
    LikeReply2 hours ago
  • karlcfolkes
    Sorry for the misspelling typo of what was meant to be the word ‘your.’ Thanks.
    LikeReply2 hours ago
  • karlcfolkes
    Very nicely done, Jessica. You’re poem “Paper Promises” with its rich imagery reminds me of Morocco’s line in Act 2, Scene VII of Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” where the classical line is uttered: “All that glitters is not gold.” 
    LikeReply 12 hours ago
    • JessicaWheeler
      Thank you, my friend. Your comment made my day! Xo
      LikeReply2 hours ago

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"Poetry.com" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Nov. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/>.

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