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Sea Pearl

I'm fifteen   darkwater dreaming or drowning
adrift and alone on the ocean of the bathroom floor
tossed on tidal waves of pain   pearled with perspiration
a clattering clutch of shells contracting
shingle shushing stifled shrieks
the shucked shell of my womb
emptying like an oyster snared
by umbilicals of seaweed   Far away
hazy-faint through saltwater mists I see
a little pearl glistening   floating and rocking in red sea

I'm all at sea   without anchor on tides   a boat floating free
seeking a mooring in the harbour of the doctor's consulting room
her voice a deep dive   anchoring me with subtle sympathy
through muffled underwater sounds   sea-shadowy fog shawling me

I want to tell her about the dream   submerged stories of a tiny pearl
maroon-mangled and foam-spangled   slipping slowly from me
into scarlet sea   drifting away   sinking to darkwater depths

Driving home my mother's rings clink like shells against the steering wheel
and a shaming sea of silence fills the car   pretty shells shucked and shocked
   






Copyright © Charlotte Puddifoot

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