Sunday, 28 October 2012

The Paper Nautilus Poem



PAPER NAUTILUS
 
THE PAPER NAUTILUS
CONSTRUCTS
HER THIN GLASS SHELL.
GIVING HER PERISHABLE
SOUVENIR OF HOPE, A DULL
WHITE OUTSIDE AND SMOOTH-
EDGED INNER SURFACE
GLOSSY AS THE SEA, THE WATCHFUL
MAKER OF IT GUARDS IT
DAY AND NIGHT
 
LEAVING ITS WASP NEST FLAWS
OF WHITE ON WHITE, AND CLOSE-
LAID IONIC CHITON-FOLDS
LIKE THE LINES IN THE MANE OF
A PARTHENON HORSE,
ROUND WHICH THE ARMS HAD
WOUND THEMSELVES AS IF THEY KNEW LOVE
IS THE ONLY FORTRESS
STRONG ENOUGH TO TRUST TO.
 

 

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