Death of Venus
February 23rd, 2005
By Archived Story
I crawled into a seashell.
Coral encompassed my heart.
Calcium leeched into my skin.
Ridges of cool cream
And rust orange
Lapped at my ribs and spin.
Abalones by bones,
Augers under arteries,
Limpets through triceps.
Smooth purples and blues
Running on my underside
In iridescent rainbows
Like oil riding waves.
I basked in a tide pool
Shallow as a puddle
And you picked me up in your palm
And held me close to your ear.
I murmured sea secrets,
Drowned in my own words
Like a lover of the land
Not the sea.
-Kim Gengler, student of English & journalism, Junior
