Saturday 21 February 2009

The Shell by Mary Webb


What has the sea swept up?
A Viking oar, long mouldered in the peace
Of grey oblivion? Some dim-burning bowl
Of unmixed gold, from far-off island feasts?
Ropes of old pearls? Masses of ambergris?
Something of elfdom from the ghastly isles
Where white-hot rocks pierce through the flying spin-drift?
Or a pale sea-queen, close wound in a net of spells?

Nothing of these. Nothing of antique splendours
That have a weariness about their names:
But - fresh and new, in rail transparency,
Pink as a baby's nail, silky and veined
As a flower petal - this casket of the sea,
One shell.



Sorry it's makeweight today. I have a poorly Lucy-cat, and her eye injury is getting worse so it looks like she will have to have an operation on Monday. I'm worried and a bit down about it, poor little girl.

5 comments:

nita x said...

jennie {{{{{{hugs}}}}}} and positive wishes for lucy cat, i do hope shes ok and her eye heals.

Greentwinsmummy said...

I hope puss is ok BB x Never apologise for little blog posts or no blog posts~hugs~
it drive me nuts when folks blog & say oh theres nothing to blog about! well dont lol! do it when you have the time & the energy & something to waffle about.Theres some I see with a blogging without obligation thing on which is where I am coming fro,am so tired I cant get my words out lol!
GTM x x x

Anonymous said...

First, I am so sorry to hear about poor Lucy-cat and hope to hear better news 'ere long. Secondly - oh where did you come upon this beautiful sonnet? I feel as if I have read it before but it would have been so long ago, I can't remember where, or when, or in which of my many,many anthologies. I love it and thankyou for including it today.

Morning's Minion said...

I'm so sorry about Lucy. It is so hard to have an animal ill or in pain. That random swat from her mom-cat's paw has had a terrible effect. I'm assuming the vet may remove the eye and sew the gaping lid closed? Poor thing. And poor you feeling so helpless for her--and faced with a hefty vet bill! I'm wondering if she was put on a course of oral anti-biotic--or just the eye salve?
Hugs to you both!
That is a lovely poem--very readable and full of beautiful images.

Bovey Belle said...

Nita and GTM - thankyou for your kind words.

WSC - It's in The Collected Works of Mary Webb - "Poems and The Spring of Joy". It's beautiful isn't it? Lots more like that in this little book too.

Sharon - yup, that just about sums it all up. She had a jab to start with, and then the anti-biotic eye drops. It doesn't look good though . . .