The sea that roars
gently in a shell
also crashes in a cup
held to the ear,
among other vessels
whose tides have only
to be taken up;
their further shores, named.

-J.D. Smith
Bigger than They Appear (2011)

“What a cache of treasures this collection is, what a cache of jewels. […] All are reminders of what the best, briefest poems can do: give back the world to us, as it passes, in the mirror of a few well-chosen words.”

-Cecilia Woloch

 J.D. Smith’s third collection of poetry, Labor Day at Venice Beach, is forthcoming in 2012. He periodically provides updates at Smitroverse.

“Further Shores” was originally published in Milk Money Vol. 7.