Phibby Venable

I thought about love as I lay in my oyster shell
but most of the other girls had claws
and pulled themselves from the pale oval
toward the dock where men stood
rehearsing lines backwards and forwards
so that I became fascinated with listening
and watching the girls turn
fine shiny shells into silver dollars
My beach was too far out for visitors
and I swam in the abandoned coral in a float
of indecision, the ocean having always
been my home - the water cool with dusk
and the welcome sound of waves
rocking me into obedience
One day a sailor dropped a flashlight into the dark
where I lay in a shade of seaweed & small flowers
The light at the end pointed toward shore
and I watched, a shy oysterette, until a longing
inside of me grew larger than fear and I pulled myself
along the sand until I became a pearl and rose
in a white gleam to the surface
The waves rushed me ashore where I sank
in dampness until a man walking by stopped
and slipped me into his pocket
I fell asleep with his rocking gait and when he stopped
to hold me carefully in the warm pinch of his fingers
he seemed satisfied and he kissed
the top of my smooth head with satisfaction
He said I made him rich.