January 10, 2012

scrimshaw

My bones
Scrimshawed
Tied off
At the ends
Dropping off

"What's crackin'?"
He asked
"My bones."
I said
Listening

With tools
Of whalers
Drowning
In the harvest
Of heart's blood
Ornamenting
My bones
Marrow
For sale

11 comments:

Claudia said...

gosh..tight and touching write this..

Ostensible Truth said...

short and powerful - a punch and a half here - nicely done!

Pat Hatt said...

Those bones crack, just don't break your back..haha Great write, powerful indeed.

Victoria said...

Wow! I had a friend who had a condition called osteogenesis imperfecta. This told her story. Very effective poem.

Anonymous said...

Great poem - love its simplicity - I feel for th whales and dolphins too

Brian Miller said...

mmm. felt the sting in this one...brittle bones...

jackie dick said...

Funny I should read this just when my doc ordered me take calcium to ward off osteoporosis...hey but all kidding aside, you remind of an almost lost art in the scrimshaw..and to a unique take on soul pain. Nicely done!

Anonymous said...

i agree for marousia -> i feel for the whales

Sheila said...

wow! marrow for sale. the brevity of this is striking - really like the way you wrote this.

Marbles in My Pocket said...

Wonderful and touching write. Well done!

http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-sun-came-up-again-4/

Paul Sands said...

I love this and its brutal brevity