silent shells

have you ever picked up a shell?

and held it to your ears?

and have you closed your eyes ever?

and listened deeply

to those rushes and roars?

have you felt the magic

of those tiny selves 

lying naked

upon sunny sands?

have you smelt the salt and blood

of wars fought 

and buried beneath?

stop.

don't look for footprints,

yours or mine.

listen.
hold a shell.

hear the waters
rise and fall,

rushing inside your skin,
and outside, left behind.

dip into that grounding silence.

listen.

make a sign.

for every shell speaks a story,

of a forgotten,
fostered self,

broken into
by flooding waters,

and a new life

that must be lived

and felled.