Neither Fully Land or Fully Sea
Shell-inlaid shrines
Rich wetlands gone
polluted, paved
Sneakers and iPhones walk
surreal and dangerous
Wave buffeted plastic
eat the beach
Picture a shuttered ecosystem
A catalog of loss
Shells growing scarcer
the sacred buried
the beloved plumbed
*
This poem is an erasure poem but my printer is acting up so I’m unable to post the actual pages. The source is an online article in Hakai Magazine titled “The Symbolic Seashell” by Krista Langlois, pages 11-13. The title also comes from the text. I highly recommend reading it for a fascinating look at the social history and significance of seashells.
Prompt via The Wombwell Rainbow
Art by John Law
Charlotte Hamrick 
Reblogged this on The Wombwell Rainbow.
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I had never known the origin of the Watts Towers. I do know that shells in general are scarcer when I go to the beach now even compared to 20 years ago. Another loss for our world. (K)
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Thanks for reading, Kerfe. It was a really interesting piece.
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It was. I like when writing makes new connections for me.
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i carry a small piece of abalone shell in my pocket…. i would hate to think the shells are disappearing….. can’t imagine the full scope of that… shall read the article…. though i know they are reclaiming wetlands as we speak…. great poem….
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Thanks for reading!
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