A Coral Hymn Overwrought
Thursday's Poem (Audio)
A Coral Hymn Overwrought
While a crown of thorns strips the flesh from their bones,
coral still sing the fish home.
We name these things, and never wonder
how the world might heed
a prophecy. Understand—
we are the storytellers, yes,
but we are the makers of nothing. Tell me
about your free will!
Your discoveries! Sweet,
sweet child, hollow
instrument, show me the sandcastles
you gouged from the shore
with your plastic shovels, and buckets
robbed from Gaia’s yellow-black graves.
Sweet, sweet heady delusion—shush now.
You are skimming the surface with all your words.
Attend now—to the shifting of the poles,
the true north. Stop. Listen to the bones.
And for fun:
I offer you poetry as a Practice of Hope.
I invite you to write an answer poem
and copy it or link to it in the chat!
Absolutely loved your poem, Ren! Here's my response poem:
__________
Battle of the reef
*
Three warriors:
Rainbow stripes, war painted.
Crown-of-thorns, infested.
Neoprene armour, lead weighted.
*
Parrot fish, gnaws coral to the bone.
No, it’s algae his buck teeth fish for,
Coral by-catch shits as sand.
He is defender of the reef,
colourful cleaner,
beach maker.
*
I tuck my human tail between my fins,
my plastic fins,
that flew long haul,
making carbon clouds,
cooking oceans,
*
And I flush the crown-of-thorns starfish with deadly vinegar,
Save frontline coral from this hungry belly at least,
And I hear,
the bones,
they’re singing for peace.
Ach, this is wonderfully written, wonderfully read. I shall try, at some point in this ragged time that's mine to write an answer poem.