Mind Like an Oyster

Sep 5, 2018 | Poetry

I’ve a mind like an oyster. The germ of an idea,
just a lone grain of sand, mulled in mental brine,
rolls out onto the beach: a lazy, golden pearl.

Nacred sphere, carted off by a scuttling crab, gray and orange –
Whisked away by ten clicking, exoskeletal legs
before the tide can claim its treasure.

The sun warms vapid leftovers: seafoamed brain.
I float, dreamlike, under drifting clouds.
Flotsam, jetsam, fantasy of sea glass and conch shells.

Beach sand shifts and rolls; green, frothed tide tickles my toes
As a planet spins, dizzily, out of control
A gaseous child, feverish, high on fire and ice.

 


Someone asked, on Quora, How can I write a descriptive paragraph about the beach? and I thought, not for the first time today, that I need a little sand and sun. It’s been too long since I went parasailing, upside down, while watching dolphins play ping-pong with a shark. Or since I floated, laughing, unable to sink, in the warm salty water near Miami, smooth as glass and clear enough to see my toes squishing in the sand. And as I re-read the question, I thought, How can I not write a descriptive paragraph about the beach? But what came out, like a tiny hermit crab from a tiny painted shell, wanted to be poetry, not paragraphs.

 

Featured Photo Credit:

Owner: Thai National Parks
Link: www.thainationalparks.com
Found at https://flic.kr/p/jxy7zU

Holly Jahangiri

Holly Jahangiri is the author of Trockle, illustrated by Jordan Vinyard; A Puppy, Not a Guppy, illustrated by Ryan Shaw; and the newest release: A New Leaf for Lyle, illustrated by Carrie Salazar. She draws inspiration from her family, from her own childhood adventures (some of which only happened in her overactive imagination), and from readers both young and young-at-heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, J.J., whose love and encouragement make writing books twice the fun.

5 Comments

  1. Mitchell Allen

    That’s a lovely bit of imagery. Also, Quora may just be the best place to get the germ of an idea for writing, creating something that solves a problem, or anything, really!
    Inspiration is everywhere, eh?

    Cheers,

    Mitch

    Reply
    • Holly Jahangiri

      True! Quora is an interesting little place. Much more serious than the old Microsoft Q&A, and much better moderated, even if it drives me crazy that a simple “yes” or “no” won’t suffice when it’s sufficient. Or that most of the stuff people ask there is either easy to Google or oddly and specifically personal. (Then again, the former is easy and the latter can be fun – it’s just odd that they asked it THERE.)

      Reply
    • Holly Jahangiri

      And thank you. Both for enjoying the imagery in my little poem (and telling me so) and for the upvote on Quora.

      Reply
  2. Sunita Saldhana

    That was great! Do you mind if I read it out to my students in my creative writing class?

    Reply
    • Holly Jahangiri

      I’d be most honored! Do let me know what they think of it (honestly, now – good or bad!)

      Reply

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