i



The sea was strange

today.

Shaped beautifully.

Whelks, crab shells,

skate egg cases,

barnacles on driftwood

and frosted red glass

were washed ashore.



ii



Foam and froth

rustled in the sea breeze.

Our blue calico

table cloth

was shadowed with straw basket –

sand strawberries, beach plums

and sea figs sat uncomfortably,

jostling against each other.



iii



Sea water filled the cove –

purple, blue, green liquid

played through my

surfing fingers,

washing away the last

particle of clinging sand.



iv



Door hinges creaked

like aged groans

as I saved some ochre grains

in the hinged shells

we picked up.

Frosted blobs of turquoise,

carmine and lime,

new creations from broken

wine and beer bottles,

flowers kept in a driftwood vase

crowded our centre table.



v



Fish maw soup

from porcelain soup bowls

made its way into our throats,

an unusual shade of green salad

cucumbers and sea lettuce.

I threw up in the bathroom.


Copyright © 2012 by Mamta Madhavan- All rights reserved

Ms, Hi!
sometime back, i was at the Titanic -100 years exhibition,

this poem is like that, an exhibition that leads to the anti climax.
there is a strange, eclectic mix of beauty and distaste that drifts past on the second read, and the acknowledgement that it was always there, in the first stz,
it flows beautifully, and it is sad, the pathos is so very evident,
strange, how it is not actually the sea, but the see: the perception, that is disturbing,
but then it is the observations that make the poetry, no?
thanks for sharing
ann

The images of the sea with its life, and humans with their other kind of life, are so well interwoven! The sense of nausea builds up gradually and very effectively.

the word choice is wonderful and the way the reader is lead image by image to the end is what keeps me coming back to this again and again. love it.

Mamta: This starts as such a luscious and beautiful write, like good fabric. I didn't start to feel ill until the dark green leafy vegetable and lichen diet at the end. I have a friend who is on this diet!
Any, I re-read and agree with Anna9. As usual, a pleasure to read, a wonderful write.

thanks all.