Adam Oyster-Sands - Sunrise Over the Willamette

Adam Oyster-Sands’ “Sunrise Over the Willamette” is a rejuvenating poem, reminding us that the world is beautiful, despite everything. Adam explained to The Dewdrop that his work is “about how and why we choose to survive in a world that increasingly seems unworthy of the struggle, about recognizing the little things that keep you tethered to a place when your mind screams run.” He continued, “[My poems] are about discovering not only a natural world you didn’t know you needed, but a new version of the person you could be.”

Sunrise Over the Willamette

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some mornings the light refracts just right through the clouds in the upper atmosphere
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we’re bathed in a glory that must be what inspired our ancestors to call out in worship.
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the river gives back the sky’s pallet in a display of symmetry
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synergy impossible to mimic or convey in words.
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the majesty of the snow-covered mountain presses through it all
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it’s like a colorless contrast of immovable innocence, a voice calling out to the city.
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I know there’s no god, but this morning I think there might be.
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the generosity of the moment is almost overwhelming.
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as quick as the picture reveals itself, the morning sun pulls it back
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the day continues.

Adam Oyster-Sands

Adam Oyster-Sands is a high school Language Arts teacher and poet. After writing cringey song lyrics in his younger years, he began writing poetry with his students as a practice on craft and voice and an expression of self. Since then, Adam has had a number of poems published in various literary journals and magazines such as Picture Frame Press, Indolent Books, and Allegory Ridge, as well as winning an award from the Oregon Poetry Association. His first poetry chapbook, don’t call us punk because we hate that, was released in 2024 through Steel Toe Books. Adam can often be found hiking up mountains and running through forests with his partner Morgan and their puppies around their home in Portland, Oregon. Instagram: @adam.oystersands