Poetry by Jenna Wysong Filbrun

Edna Winti CC




A Salvation of Turtles

The same day I carry
the hurt-winged monarch
on the sleeve of my yellow sweatshirt
to the cover of the stonecrop in the front garden,
the snapping turtles (native, threatened)
hatch from the base of the thick, rubbery leaves.
As August leans toward September, I’ve been checking 
morning, afternoon, and evening
for signs of emergence from the mulch
where their mother buried them last June.
They come tunneling from the nest at twilight, one
after another after another. When I look tonight, there are turtles 
through the garden, over the grass, down the drive, 
blink-stumbling toward the swamp 
on the other side of the road.
They eye me from tiny heads in quarter-size shells
still covered in clods of earth, strewn 
like a trail of breadcrumbs to show me the way 
to forget the lug of myself. 
And I do. I can’t carry the world
or even my own struggles, 
but I can carry these turtles 
across the whirring road.
As dark gathers, a light blinks
from far through the trees as I travel
to and from swamp’s edge
like a secret message 
about yes and you 
and keeping on.






Bigger Life

When it comes over me,
I try not to kick and strain.
Pain takes me deeper 

than I would otherwise go
and back up, eventually,
to the surface.

It used to be bars of light
moved across the floor,
and I did not notice.

A deep red snapdragon 
appears in the garden and opens its mouth 
as I crawl inside.

Yes, I am imperfect. 
The rich petals are like velvet on my feet.
I gather dust in the throat of it— 

a bigger life than the busy one,
if by big you mean awake,
and by life you mean all of us.

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Jenna Wysong Filbrun is the author of Running Toward Water, forthcoming from Shanti Arts in February 2026.  Her poems have appeared in The Dewdrop, Deep Wild Journal, ONE ART, and other publications.  She lives with chronic illness and depression and practices poetry to deepen her awareness of connection. Find her on Instagram @jwfilbrun.



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