The Peaceful Pelican, Palacios, Texas

Sandi Stromberg

April 5, 2026

I ignore uncertainty, the news, the refrigerator’s open door, argue 

with GPS until my route is settled. Destination, the Gulf. A desire

for predictable waves lapping wooden piers. To nest at The Peaceful 

Pelican. To breathe in the Sunrise Room—marigold walls, views 

of tidal currents, gulls mewling. To rock on the front porch, 

my mind quiet, my nerves nodding off. I even conjure

a pod of pelicans. Outside the window, early morning’s dark 

finds a sliver of moon reluctant to abandon night, despite 

slashes of gold and rose, a tip of sun zipping open the horizon. 

Gulls glide willy-nilly above the water, a chaotic chorus. 

I want to join their mewling, prove I’m worthy of their company,

of this retreat to the sea. As the day saunters, clouds 

commandeer the sky. Gone the murmur of tide against wood—

swallowed by thunder. Pounding rain rushes into 

Tres Palacios Bay, stalls. Gulls hunker down, silent, 

while I perch, serenaded by hours 

of tap dancing on the roof, the divine deluge 

falling in sheets of music. 

Sandi Stromberg is the author of Frogs Don't Sing Red and Moonlight, Shaken (coming in early 2026). Her poems recently appeared in Synkroniciti, San Pedro River Review, Red River Review, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Panoply, MockingHeart Review, and The Senior Class. An editor at The Ekphrastic Review, she edited two poetry anthologies—Untameable City and Echoes of the Cordillera.