The Cowry Shell Poem by Mark Heathcote

A beached cowry shell is waiting,
Waiting like an open mouth,
The World has entered it
Through a gaping window
Strung its necklace
Hung its stars across the aperture
The wide expanse on nothingness

To suspend a thought a memory
That once in each other's discovery
That once you truly loved me
That once you too lived entirely for me
Made love to me like I, you
Before finally, deciding to crush me.

~or~

A beached cowry shell lays waiting,
Waiting like an open mouth,
The World has entered and left it
Left it through a gaping window
Strung its necklace
Hung its stars across the aperture
The wide expanse on nothingness

To suspend a thought a memory
That once in each other's discovery
That once he too loved me
That once he too existed-entirely for me
Made love to me like I, he
Before finally, he decided to crush me.