| Shells on the Seashore Shells on the seashore, laying in the sand Swept beachward with waveful, silent hands Foaming fingers linger to caress and Gently recede, disappear; having done their best To cushion them as they settle On a cliff or in the nettles of the brush downshore.. The shell glints in rays of sun then moon Pearly shimmers, youth in bloom Adventure seeker alit on terra The sea-wave's echo-song its ferry. Salty-sweet winds woo it to sleep Its first night on shore, the day will keep til morning. Dawn sears the endless sky In hues of purple, orange and blue; gulls cry And feed on fishes from the sea As the beach awakens in its touching breeze. The shell responds and calls its lead- Those hands and fingers of the sea. It waits and calls and calls again, Its sisters already early sent. Night descends once more; Cold and grey; clouds gather off-shore; Lightening flashes, thunder pours, strange waves crash And beat the shore; they pelt the shell And lash; take its life but deign to laugh. A spiral left - an empty shell Surface cracked, colors bled The sea can no longer take it forth The spiral empty; void and dark. Transitory life, only, beneath a Shimmering, structural shell. by Doreen A.J. Stenger copyright 2002 all rights reserved |
 |