"hammerhead" poems
Lone leatherback cruises up from the deep, pausing on the fragile reef
to feast ancient eyes upon the show, a bright parade laid out below
butterfly couples paired for life, graceful angels in black and white stripe
brilliant clowns and their toxic lovers, a plodding gang of giant groupers
puffers bob like comic balloons, humble gobies on every menu
beaked parrotfish grinding the coral down, in the ears a constant sound
cowfish blowing puckered kisses, sea stars catching fishy wishes
white-tipped, hammerhead, tiger sharks, triggerfish mean bite worse than their bark
untamed unicorns too wild to ride, dogfish snapping, biting alongside
coral trout color-shifting fools, attracting ladies in dull-hued schools
**** headed wrasse rumbling through, thick lips mumbling go get a room
sea horses nod in labyrinth caves, razor-toothed eels lying in wait
if tentacled embrace should be your fate, nudibranchs will light the way
to a place of bliss, none of this can exist, without the builders
coral and algae bewildered, the ways of man egotistical
rising ocean temperatures, carbon emissions, and el Niño
victim of abundant greed, say goodbye to the Great Barrier Reef
so massive is this magical place, one can see it from outer space
astronauts witness its demise, ninety-percent barren, bleached bone white.
Apr 27, 2016
Apr 27, 2016 at 1:58 PM UTC
Creatures of the night,
howling and cooing,
in the dark forest,
sending chills that
run down my spine,
with goose bumps
all over my body.
It's really spooky in
this quiet night as the
drizzling rain makes it
more difficult and
uncomfortable to see
in the dark.
The tranquil of this
night is so frightening
and makes one go weak
at the knees.
I can hear the ****** biting
the wood to make a ridge
so the flood will find its path.
You can hear every
footstep of these creatures
moving in the dark.
The flapping wings of the
dreaded vampire blood *******
hammerhead bat flying so low
above my head,
another nightmare of the night,
the night owl staring at me,
the park of wolves barking
at a distance,
the creepy noises of other
animals in the deep dark night,
the noise of the ruffled dried leaves
by the king cobra hunting.
It seems they are watching
your every move in the dark.
The whiff of your scent
they perceive from afar.
Alone in the quiet dark night
with the night creatures
is a perfect place to test your
nerves and witness
the beauty of the night unfold before you
in display of their magic.
©2018,Emeka Mokeme. All Rights Reserved.
Aug 16, 2018
Aug 16, 2018 at 9:28 AM UTC
Average-joe protagonist wipes beer glasses
at the helm of his sports bar, blissfully ignorant
of the imminent laughable tragedy. Clouds circle,
and there's that obligatory radio broadcast,
the one that warns of inclement weather-
rainy, with a chance of Selachimorpha.
You hum the Jaws theme, tracing pickup lines
on the skin of my back, while sharks pour from the sky,
the improbable tornado dropping great whites
on the California shoreline. One arm curled
around my waist, you tickle erratically
until I squirm away, only to creep back again,
and put my head in the mouth of the sand tiger,
wandering too close to the edge of the water, foolish,
but this is a b-movie, we swam out too far
knowing how it would end. The extras
scream and scatter, arms flailing,
going through the motions of surprise,
stumbling in their scripted attempts
to flee the inevitable. Predictably,
they fall. We all fall, and the girl trapped
in the hammerhead's belly
has this peaceful expression,
as if she can't quite remember why
she ran away in the first place.
Nov 5, 2013
Nov 5, 2013 at 1:05 PM UTC
A jet-ski, jetty bound, disturbs the waves,
While not too far away, on the seabed
Lies the hungry blacktip and hammerhead,
As a nurse explores the undersea caves.
Harvey wouldn’t capture Marlin here,
Just a glance of turtle, seaweed green,
Gasping at the stuffy air, marine,
Gazing at a sunset he should fear.
The sharks hunt for prey in mere hours.
A flock of ching-chings squawk away,
As mosquitoes come out to play,
Darting between darkening flowers.
Through mosquito nets I take a peek,
In oasis that I realise,
Snuggled in a palm tree lies
A curled green parrot, sound asleep.
Jun 4, 2012
Jun 4, 2012 at 10:28 AM UTC
A thought in process...
Imagery that tells a story....
I can see
the Prestigious School of Gills:
The Conservatory of Velvet & Blues.
In the process...
The conservatory will need to
hire the Ground sharks
to make sure there
are no shellfish or
Crappie fish laying around.
Once all the Crap is
swallowed up,
we can hire Dolphins so they
can share in their porpoise.
Even in the deep,
we have trouble with
Blackchin. We should consider
hiring Giant Wels to calm
the Blackchin. if that does not
work, we will get the Bigmouth Buffalo
to calm all the Bitterling.
I do need to get around-
I should Perch a Black Neon Tetra
...and find some Pumkinseeds.
I will need to hire an
Octopus to get the building
done sooner.
In one hand- I will use a Hammerhead.
In another hand- he should use a Sawfish.
I will need two arms to scratch
the Rough Scad from the floor.
Two more arms should
use Smelt-whiting on the walls.
We need Muscles to do the
heavy lifting.
Finally, the Octopus will need two
arms to lay the Velvet.
EEL!!! I have noticed Roaches!
I noticed the Roughy patches.
Hey look!!! We do not need to
worry about electric-
we will just use electric eels.
To right- I will place the lampfish.
Do not worry about the
evil of the Ghouls & Devil Ray-
I will be sure to Discus
with Alfonsino all
the trouble with the
Blue-eye, Bullhead, ***** shark.
We will have a Whale of a time,
omitting the Suckers & Swallowers
from the Red Velvetfish.
I need to cool
things off with icefish.
And to keep the roofs from
leaking, hire the seals.
Our Seahawk Security will
be watching for the White Shark.
If you see them please,
send out the Yellow Jacks
and I will use the River Loach
as backup for there is plenty of
fish in the sea.
Oct 16, 2014
Oct 16, 2014 at 7:29 PM UTC
a hammerhead percussion box:
an inert crystalline cymbalist’s gong.
a confession of tined tuning forks
of perhaps a familiar keyboard?
the siren sphere rings of a chime—
brittle yet consciously polite,
composed by nature’s ragged pen:
plinking injections; stymied to tin.
! let it all reduce the klang to mere cacaophony !
a descent of bells, i am in plume,
a riddle delivered in aged runes—
evenheaded shots of ******
cut by the lotto wanderlust:
fractal prism, stormy rhythm,
thunder’s din to rainy hymn.
up those tulip-eared scales, so brisk,
the glugs and gurgles of cosmopolis.
! let it all reduce the tolling to glorious symphony !
a vagabond melody, no metronome,
a metallurgist’s claustrophobe,
an orchestral performance at home,
where i am absolved in the entrancing drone...
Jun 20, 2013
Jun 20, 2013 at 12:26 AM UTC
The ocean is not deep
Its not a beating heart
In your chest as you sleep
As you dream
The ocean is not peace
Its hammerhead sharks
That want to eat
As I swim
But its a river in my mouth
A river of life
The transitory nature of water
You can't step in the same river twice
The ocean in not deep
A game of inches and trenches
A rock on the sea floor
And islands
The ocean is not love
It is continual struggle
Swordfish and coral reef
Beauty and disbelief
But its a river in my mouth
Flowing down hill
The path of least resistance
Reaches your heart
The ocean is not deep
A rock in a current
Soaked and worn by bitter tides
And big fish
The ocean is not truth
A rock has always been wet
Lustful for a starfish
A sea horse rides away
The ocean is not deep
There is not an ocean
Prolific Pacific or tragic Atlantic
I can't walk across
Still its a river in my mouth
You on a shore
Cupping your hands
And drinking
Drink
My love
Drink until your drunk
Drink the river in my mouth
Jun 1, 2016
Jun 1, 2016 at 5:35 PM UTC
I have three birthmarks.
One on my ribs shaped like a hammerhead shark pigmented into my skin speaking like shadows on blinding days. Protector of humans, night hunter, and forever growing teeth.
One on my thigh like tea barely seeped, a water mark bleeding through the picture and the point. Only seen in the brightest of light and only revealed in the darkest parts of the night.
One on the curve of my hip like a cherry blossom. I am as ephemeral as a bloom. Beauty like roots breaking through sidewalks and death like a handful of sand and gravity.
Jul 10, 2013
Jul 10, 2013 at 6:36 PM UTC
Dreaming of being alone
Not even close to being known
I'm unknown
Invisible like a shadow in the dark
Under the water like hammerhead shark
When I walk past, dogs don't even bark
Wandering the Earth
Not knowing how much I'm worth
Just walking around
Thinking I must be a let down
Frown on my face
Going at my own pace
Thinking if I really am a disgrace
Its hard to mantain my smiles
When I'm walked on like if i was a floor tile
Bout to flow away from this like the nile
Floating away like a ghost
Going through things from coast to coast
One day I'll come out of this shell
Maybe then I'll excel
But for now I say farewell
Jan 17, 2015
Jan 17, 2015 at 9:34 PM UTC
we don't even lock eyes
& i'm trembling
from the memories I relive in
the present.
I trusted you too easily,
let you in too fast,
spoke about things I never had,
because there was something about you.
something that made me
want to open up and talk
and express and live.
you were my best friend,
my companion day by day.
I placed all my trust in you
and when you left
like the end of a season--
of a school year--
you left me to fend for myself
in a sea full of sharks.
but then again,
you're just another hammerhead.
Jul 12, 2013
Jul 12, 2013 at 4:31 AM UTC
Yours isn't gentle lunacy,
It's hammerhead insanity.
Great white crazy.
I'm not even safe walking on
the sand.
You ******* learned to graze on
the land.
Evolution is a *****
Nov 20, 2021
Nov 20, 2021 at 1:37 PM UTC
Momentum turns me
Up a broken driveway,
Truck’s suspension
Bucks and sways
In a nose-up attitude,
Into the thick, green
__Canopy above.
Almost like a flying
__Circus,
Except green for blue,
Reminders of my
Primary days__
Nose higher in a T-34,
Vibrating and shaking,
Headlong into a fall;
“Hold it!” He shouts,
“Hold the nose!”
The air so full of glory,
The slow settling back,
Then over in a full
And hair-raising,
Stomach churning,
Hammerhead Stall,
And off we go…
Nose-down hard,
Again and again.
May 29, 2014
May 29, 2014 at 1:02 PM UTC
It was always
And it was never
It was forever
It was forever
Sweet baby Jane
Sweet angel with no halo
I find myself lost
Without you
And its always better this way
Its never what we choose
I'll forever be true
I'll forever love you
But these wolves in the night
Hammerhead sharks
Vampires
And empty streets
It was always
And it was never
It was forever
Forever love
Sweet baby Jane
If you go away
I'll be lost in the woods
Without a light
And the wolves closing in
And me not knowing
If I should give up
Or if I should fight
But these shadows in the dark
These haunting demons
Poltergeist
And restless oceans
It was always
Apr 19, 2016
Apr 19, 2016 at 3:38 AM UTC
Night and day
Sun runs moon limps
Sounds echo through
This supposed wasteland
Me being the motionless point
Of all the universe
Observer of known
Not understanding a thing
Absurdly absurd absurdity
Why this glass grabs that hand
What does unlock the rage
That makes us so violent
And love o love shinning everywhere
And nowhere is the love
Souls having been starved to madness
Jump hastily into her arms
Thinking of having found happiness
In a waterless pool
They hold their breath until they suffocate
Open your eyes to night and day
To sun that runs and moon that limps
To miles travelled and those yet to travel
Open your eyes to motion
To become motionless
And then dance the dance of absurdity
Become nothing and all
Dance like never before
On flames dance with bare feet
Always and never wounded
Heal your soul
Destroy it with hammerhead
Be one and none
Be for a second and then be gone
Sep 13, 2016
Sep 13, 2016 at 2:55 PM UTC
I recognize this vast
Sensuous sea
I find myself in
Been here before
Swimming paradox
Within myself
Those seas were
Black then
The only color
Was the reflection
Of
The Moon
Now I see it differently
Hues of green
Sunrises
Bring about orange
Waves of red
Yellow
Fishes I never noticed
Salty sprays
Upon my lips
In purple
And blue
Sea horses
Sea turtles
The hammerhead
I see it all now
A storm
Ahead
Lightning reflects
Upon the water
Like
God
Dripping mercury
Into the water
Mar 29, 2018
Mar 29, 2018 at 5:11 PM UTC
A black
rose was
court indifferent
therein Malibu
as hammerhead
led tigress
yet felt
antithetical and
melted doom
in the
air and
the water
crept upon
the shore
if north
beach surf
was shone
Aug 22, 2018
Aug 22, 2018 at 8:46 AM UTC
Every movement
Every twitching
Every bruise and
Every blister
The dark fine line
My blood glistens
In the moonlight
Ain’t it twisted?
Every vision
Black and blue, I’m
Used, abused, Crime
To suicide
Every sharp sur-
Face of the knives
Every blunt hammerhead
That I’ve tried
‘Fore they knew I’m
Painting pictures
Inhumane crimes
Still unwitnessed
Going through, I’m
Thorough, twisted
Me beyond recognition
Ain’t it vicious?
I deserve hurt
I deserve pain
I deserve work
I deserve strain
Self-starvation
Unsatisfactory
Tainted believes
I become feign
May 2, 2020
May 2, 2020 at 4:41 PM UTC