The Hermit Crab, Poetry in Bloom

The Hermit Crab
by Mary Oliver



Once I looked inside

the darkness

of a shell folded like a pastry,

and there was a fancy face-

or almost a face -

it turned away

and frisked up its brawny forearms

so quickly



against the light

and my looking in

I scarcely had time to see it,

gleaming



under the pure white roof

of old calcium.

When I sent it down, it hurried

along the tideline



of the sea,

which was slashing along as usual,

shouting and hissing

toward the future,



turning its back

with every tide on the past,

leaving the shore littered
every morning



with more ornaments of death -

what a pearly rubble

from which to choose a house

like a white flower -



and what a rebellion

to leap into it

and hold on,

connecting everything,



the past to the future -

which is of course the miracle -

which is the only argument there is

against the sea.



This is my entry for a fun little Poetry in Bloom Hanover Garden Club exhibit for our town library. Seven of us from the Club will put them on display this morning through Wednesday. I'm especially proud of my little day lily bud claws and lavender eyes :)

For the Record,

This day came in bright, cool and so like a Maine day that I smiled ear to ear when I first stepped out his morning.

All hands healthy