The next poem in my series for The Folklore Chronicles, a poetic journey inspired by Taylor Swift’s album, is a piece for the song “invisible string.”

the clues I didn’t see

I always dreamed of sharing my spot
on Hollywood Beach with someone special.
tell them about summer days with friends
climbing the ramp up to the lifeguard house
where we didn’t belong. crunching
on pizza seasoned with sea salt and sand
blown over the cheese by the ocean breeze.
there’s an invisible string that keeps
calling and pulling me back to those shores
where I hear the echoes of my friends
and I laughing and screaming in delight
every time the seagulls came too close.
I sometimes see their ghosts too, wearing
beach towels like capes. a single thread
of gold leads me back to those kids
reminding me on rainy days that the sun
always comes back to shine.

In Swift’s album Red, her song “All Too Well” has a lyric that says, “You tell me ’bout your past, thinking your future was me.” The song “invisible string” feels like a callback to this line. I’ve never experienced a romantic relationship myself, but I’ve always imagined it like this.

As a Florida girl, I have so many cherished memories on the beach. So, it makes sense I wrote this poem during a beach day. Inspired by my environment, I drifted into the scenery and let the memories flood me. I always come back to that carefree girl on Hollywood Beach hanging out with her friends. Because for me, those have been my most important and lasting relationships.

Nostalgia feels like a permanent state for my generation. And coming from a place rooted in nature, I always feel the pull of an invisible string tugging me back to those shores. The sun, sea, and sand are woven into my DNA. I could leave Florida one day and make my home somewhere else. But my time in Florida could never leave me.

One day, I hope I get to share these pieces of myself with someone special. I would like, someday, to find a person who feels like they’ve been embedded in my life the whole time, and I couldn’t see them until the right time.

Thanks for following along and reading my poetry.