Usually, I have a pretty good sense about when I’m done writing a poem.
But, after I posted that last poem–the one about writing poetry–I wasn’t satisfied. It just didn’t feel finished to me.
I didn’t like the ending. I didn’t really like the photo I had taken to illustrate it. It just wasn’t right.
So, I went down to the beach of Liberty Bay on the Puget Sound, and found an oyster shell. It inspired me to write a final stanza for the poem.
I feel much better about it now.
As the Oyster Forms the Pearl
As the oyster forms the pearl,
So the poet pens the verse
As balm for the current ache
Born out of the ancient curse.
As the oyster feels compelled
To shellac the sandy grain,
So the poet feels the urge
To transmogrify the pain.
So the pearl grows rich and round
As its luster covers the sand.
So the verse unseen takes form
In its way, designed unplanned.
Sad the pearl that lies unseen
In the depths of the murky sea.
Sad the verse that dies unheard
In the heart clandestinely.
So the diver frees the pearl,
Breaks the stony shell apart.
So the poet frees the verse
Ripped out of his broken heart.
Poetic Champions 