Consider the predicament of a shell,
Hanging around for a thousand years,
Tossed around in tidal currents,
Forever surrounded by sand
And salted water,
Yet no water may permeate its enamel.

Consider the predicament of a shell,
That once harboured a sheltered life,
A secretive, sensitive, sensual life,
Till preyed upon for its succulence.
A life that was too delicate to last.

Consider the predicament of a shell.
The wind makes strange sounds
As it exits through holes,
A resonance that rebounds
In false hopes, where hope has been lost
For a thousand years.

Consider the predicament of a shell.
What now for encore and applause?
Admired for its absence of flaw.
Forever elegant- elaborate in line and pattern …
Yet only a shell-
Shell of a clam; shell of a conch,
Shell of a man.