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A DROWNING Martin Jervis Leeds |
A Drowning You lay on September sand, your face, As smooth as ivory on a bed of ochre, A body's petal left sour by a salty dive, Desired and hooked into water's sap hollows. From the sockets of your dark, emptied eyes, Vision had ebbed in the stomach of the sea, Pyramids of salt-washed teeth gleamed Beside the tongue of your swallowed cry. You lay on September sand, sterile, And cleansed beneath the silent, grey cliff; Stiffened jaws, a spirited heart captured By ocean tides spit into empty lungs. I watched you lying in perfect stillness; Pale hands, tightly clenched, stretched, Weeping veins like autumn leaves, Whilst the gulls on the wing cried in anger. Martin Jervis [Return to Psychopoetica home page] ©The contents of this page are copyright protected.
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