Spoils of War

By MistakenMagic

Mon, 01 Jun 2009
  • 3406 reads
17 comments
 

The corpses of crabs
float bloated and white,
belly up in the shallows;
the ghosts of spiders -
condemned to the jaws
of a plughole.

Starfish too find themselves
plucked from rock canvases;
charms on the thread of a tidal knot.
It flushes them from pool to pool
but homesick, they reach for the sky.

The jellyfish are the first wave
of an invasion, now left stranded
on the shining shingles.
Feared but blameless;
their creeping tendrils
point to the guilty one.

And the broken, hairy hearts
of horse-shoe crabs bloom
in seaweed wombs;
the shadows of bodies
that littered the Normandy beaches.

Certificate U
Poem
Birds, Bees and Butteflies
Miscellaneous

Comments

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Thank you elements! I glad you enoyed the poem ;) Magic xxx

 

Submitted by threeleafshamrock on
Sounds like D.Day Nice imagery, morbid but satisfying (I hate Jellyfish) ;) Chris XX

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Thank you Chris ;) Glad this satisfied you! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Curse of 222 on
engrossing imagery and interesting point of view. i think you've done well to capture a moment from a unique angle. "but homesick, they reach for the sky." and "horse-shoe crabs bloom in seaweed wombs" are my favorite bits. this reads with an odd cadence that adds to the feel of the poem. good work, even if it did make my stomach feel a little off. jason

jason

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
'even if it did make my stomach feel a little off' - erm, alright then! Haha just kidding, thanks for commenting Jason and 'nipping' over here ;) Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Bradene on
A unique and graphic way to describe an horrific historic event. One that the long dead war poets would be envious of. Well done indeed. Val x

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Thank you Val! Glad you liked it ;) Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Curse of 222 on
'even if it did make my stomach feel a little off' all i meant was that the imagery was vivid and a bit disturbing...in a good way. it was my pleasure to 'nip'. jason

jason

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
No worries Jason ;) I was only teasing! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Curse of 222 on
teasing? how rude! :P jason

jason

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Thank you so much Nathan ;) I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on
I completely missed this one, Magic. My apologies. I can only reiterate what has already been said. Brilliant imagery and as usual from your pen, a unique way of looking back at the Normandy landings. I too hate jellyfish, since I was in Holland once with my two girls, who were very small at the time. The three of us were swimming in the sea at a small, coastal resort, when to my horror, I realised we were literally surrounded by jellyfish. I called my kids to come back to the shore with me, trying not to panic them. They obeyed, thank goodness. In the morning, we went down to the beach, and stranded, all the way along the shore for as long as the eye could see - jellyfish, the size of dinner-lates. Yuk! A brilliant poem. Well done;-) Tina xxx

 

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Thank you Tina! It amazes me the size of jelly fish too! In North Wales - nowhere exotic - me and my Dad found one the size of a car tyre! You know you love it Jason ;) Hehe! Magic xxx

 

Submitted by Curse of 222 on
secrets, magic...secrets! jason

jason

Submitted by littleditty on
lovely sounds in this one - i thought this one could just be called Spoils. (Sorry Magic, i seem to have a title thing going on this evening! :o)

 

Submitted by Beeme on
Magic, this is so beautiful! All of the images add to a fantastic and slightly sad poem. Capturing the sea creatures point of view, is a great angle. And a amazing achievement x My favorite parts: I have so many! but these lines are gorgeous: 'charms on the thread of a tidal knot. It flushes them from pool to pool but homesick, they reach for the sky.' and 'of horse-shoe crabs bloom in seaweed wombs;' and also 'Feared but blameless; their creeping tendrils point to the guilty one.' Love, love, love this whole poem, thank you for directing me here :) Best wishes Beeme xx

k.

Submitted by MistakenMagic on
Wow Beeme what a review! Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed this one ;) Magic xxx