Baskin Cooper

Baskin Cooper

Baskin Cooper is a poet, visual artist, and multidisciplinary creator based in Chatham County, North Carolina. His work spans poetry, songwriting, sculpture, screenwriting, and voice acting, weaving together visual, narrative, and musical elements. He holds a PhD in psychology and previously lived in Cork, Ireland, experiences that often shape his explorations of folklore, lyricism, and personal history. His poems have appeared in Rattle, The Avocet, and Ink & Oak, with work forthcoming in ONE ART. His debut collection, The Space Between Branches, is currently seeking publication.

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Blackbeard’s Lass

Blackbeard’s Las

I met him by the inlet

his beard a tangle of smoke and salt

braided ribbons catching firelight

eyes dark as storms off Hatteras

he spoke of laying anchor for good

a cottage tucked in the dunes

my hand bound with his

his cutlass rusting on the wall

but on shore he staggered and swayed

the ground pitched beneath his boots

he leaned against market stalls

clutched doorframes as if to keep from drowning

I feared it was rum or madness

yet the doctor only frowned

said the sea had claimed his body

that land would sicken him whole

the cure is motion he said

canvas splitting with wind

decks rolling like thunderclouds

waves breaking iron against wood

so I watched him return again

to smoke and rigging and flame

his heart left beating beside me

his body chained to the tide