my heart is like an ocean perle:
melancholy sleep under saltwater’s curl.
closed, locked, under lost mollusk key,
i wait as not one delves down for me.

midnyght oil burns blue, seagreen;
eyes swell of syghts of things i ne’er forseen.
alone, these shells crack soundlessly
under the water, sealight flickers on me.

once, i was treasured: a young cabochon
pulled from the rocks in a late avalon.
he wore me round his neck - eight seasons due -
but into his heartbeat, i could not imbue.

my heart is like an ocean perle:
melancholy sleep under cold water’s curl.
closed in, locked under lost mollusk key,
i wait as not one delves down for me.

melancholy sleep under deep water’s curl,
melancholy sleep under black water’s curl.
rest now, rest now, sweet ocean perle.