Clams On Parade
Clams on parade go salty down
Slip into comas oceans
Before the waves come in as awkward
Shells crash on rocks awakening
Before the dawn they are alarmed
Drink in the moments fathomed
Investigate the currents of their ways
Those familiar with sand will understand
Clams stand erect at greater depths
Too deep to measure as they contemplate
Restraints imposed on them by muscles
Clamped mouths roll out tongues that fade
Closed tightly in smiles of tidal wonder
Clams hold on with one foot dangling
Granite works that way
Anchored to reality
Shell shock is all they’ve got
Must we wait for oyster logic?
Pressure sets in when air’s depleted
Mud is soft to the touch beneath
And cloudy when under tons of seas
Gathering objects in the dark
Can make it easy to forget
Oxygen is needed to catch your breath
Stationed on terrains already under way
Hard gray armies hang in unison
Oblivious to sights above the waves
Obviously sounds are drowned or muffled
Above, birds come to pry clams free
Not to set them free but crack them open
Interested only in sustenance for the day
To loose them from the rocks
To drop them from on high and call it lunch
The ocean waves goodbye in deep reflection
As the sound of salty friends go down
Seas become deep in thought
But not deep enough for clams protection
Copyright © Earl Schumacker | Year Posted 2021
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