We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

2.9.18

Nautilus

Nautilus

















Curving
gradually
through pearly
and nearly translucent
fragile white chambers which once
contained a living, moving creature of the sea,
culminating in a spiral not golden but logarithmic –
this beautiful shell is dead,
a lovely skeleton
ghostly white,
unearthly
pure.


A second 'fib' or fibonacci poem written for Camera FLASH! at 'imaginary garden with real toads', this one word-based rather than syllable-based.

Shell image by Edward Weston. Fair Use.

8 comments:

  1. Unearthly, it does become, doesn't it? Love this.

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  2. The beauty of death... exactly how I thought about it... who loves a living mollusk?

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  3. this beautiful shell is dead

    This is the line that got to me. Wonderful.

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  4. I am constantly amazed at the intricacy of the creatures of land and sea.

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  5. A lovely "Of a pretty seashell," Rosemary. I hope you liked writing the word Fibonacci. You did well with it. I may play with some words but I've liked syllable count for a majority of my writing.
    ..

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  6. They spoke not or could not read or write but were immeasurably more beautiful than we were.

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  7. This is beautiful! 💞 I love how you describe curving as "fragile white chambers"... and oh that closing image .. splendid write, Rosemary! 😊

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  8. fascinating - a beautiful shell is dead .... leaves one to wonder at the actual idea of which is more real, the living creature, or its shell, and remains, and if the shell is dead, like a shed skin ... then is this a treasure, still? (to ponder to ponder)

    great jobs with the poems Rosemary :)

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