THE SEA RUNS COLDER

I wrote this poem rather quickly, but I am not saying it is finished, rather I present it as a work in progress.

The sea runs colder,

longer, deeper,

he dives for a pearl

he does not want but needs.

Spies the enigmatic shell,

wrestles it loose,

then rises too cold for hope.

The point of his father’s knife

releases the secret,

opalescent in sunlight.

A rare beauty he will be cheated out of,

perhaps he will be left just enough.

This sort of thing happens

once in a lifetime,

if you are lucky.

The poem wrote itself, as they occasionally do.
I suppose I was thinking of the parable of the pearl of great value but not on a conscious level.
On Sunday I saw Brain Patten read. As always he was superb. He has a new collection out The Book of Upside Down Thinking, which was inspired by the Sufi tradition of teaching tales. Brian brings his humanity and humour to their retelling. It really is a rich and reflective read.
It is worth checking out Brian's new website, there are some poems from the book for you to read and a host of other excellent work. 

Here's Brain reading.

I can't go though this post without playing Judee Sill's The Pearl.

Until next time.