Not, exactly, green:
closer to bronze preserved in kind brine,
something retrieved from a Greco-Roman wreck,
patinated and oddly muscular.
We cannot know what his fantastic legs were like--
though evidence suggests eight complexly folded
scuttling works of armament,
crowned by the foreclaws' gesture of menace and power.
A gull's gobbled the center,
leaving this chamber --size of a demitasse--
open to reveal a shocking, Giotto blue.
Though it smells of seaweed and ruin,
this little traveling case comes with such lavish lining!
Imagine breathing surrounded by the brilliant rinse
of summer's firmament.
What color is the underside of skin?
Not so bad, to die, if we could be opened into this--
if the smallest chambers of ourselves,
similarly, revealed some sky. |
I walked down the beach in glorious awe. Face to the sky, sun shining off black, volcanic sand. Exhilared by wind, sky, ocean. Intoxicated by the smell of the water-washed world revealed to me, as a glimpse, at low tide. Glancing down, a gift is given in perfect death mask fashioned. A remembrance, a story within stories, a keepsake, a lesson. Placed here for our reflection.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this poem brings to light a worthy human ability to appreciate and see beauty all around us. It's the exercise of this ability that makes our daily living more meaningful and full of wonder. Thanks purplehaze for reminding me about it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the last paragraph the author challenges the reader to ask a question: When you die, what will you leave of yourself?
I agree Stan .The ability to appreciate beauty around us truly humbles me .I just had a tiny but very beautiful insect crawl over my computer screen as I sit here on a "balmy " summer afternoon in a shady spot .I am surrounded by so many things I have yet to dicover .Such beauty gives both zest and peace to life .
ReplyDeleteI also agree that what you leave of yourself contributes to Eternity