A shell, inside and out.

by Poet on the Piano   May 29, 2020


I was thrown across
Omaha, hitting the
frothy waves at
unintelligible speed.
The tides slashed
at my dignity until I
swallowed shards.

I held onto reveries
like rusted anchors,
trusting I would
eventually
be discovered
on the coastland.

Too often,
I shut the sun out,
falling asleep to
the shallow sounds
of the earth
forgetting me.

I could have
done more
for myself.

-

At a pace
many don't understand,
I'm uncovering the
love originally
meant for me.

I've had to drag
it out of the ocean,
untangle it from nets,
unhook it from cliffs,

but it's mine.

No one else can
claim this love.

While everyone
collected sand
between their toes,
I waited.

While everyone
rode the waves
and took charge
of their fears,
I waited.

I was the shell
no one looked twice at,
my time had not come yet.

If you pick me up,
I will not shatter.
If you listen closely,
you will hear courage.
Every dismissed emotion
that once bled on the
ocean floor
is ready to be heard.

Though my existence
may some day cut you,
pain cannot be washed over.
This pain has drifted and
finally found a makeshift harbor.

-
Written while listening to "From A Shell" by: Lisa Germano, and after recently re-watching the movie adaptation of "Speak".

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