Sacred Shell

Posted on October 12, 2018 by

Written for:  dVerse Poets Pub – Meeting The Bar:  Iambic Pentameter  (posted by Frank)
“The challenge today is to write lines of iambic pentameter, lines with five iambic feet. They do not have to rhyme. They do not have to have exactly 10 syllables per line. They do not have to be perfectly iambic in rhythm allowing some variety. The poem can be a named form like a couplet or a Chaucerian stanza or a sonnet or it may be blank verse of only one line or many. For length, let’s restrict them to 14 lines or shorter, allowing for a sonnet.”

She wandered ‘cross the lacy foam of shore
Her toes cupped ‘round the mud strip of sand
where tiny shells lay glistening as in days of yore.
She held an object cradled in her hand

which made her heart beat quicken, so unlike
her usual soothing calmness at a beach.
A pledge was sworn between the two one night
if one should die before marriage is reached

the one who’s left, would toss their shell to sea.
He fought a war that never could be won,
and died on foreign soil, his mother’s only son.
She tossed their pearly shell and tears did stream.

A sense of peace imbued her like a hug,
Their pledge was carried out with tender love.

https://dversepoets.com/

About purplepeninportland

I am a freelance poet, born and bred in Brooklyn, New York. I live with my husband, John, and two charming rescue dogs–Marion Miller and Murphy. We spent eight lovely years in Portland, OR, but are now back in New York. My goal is to create and share poetry with others who write, or simply enjoy reading poetry. I hope to touch a nerve in you, and feel your sparks as well.
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18 Responses to Sacred Shell

  1. V.J. Knutson says:
    October 12, 2018 at 1:05 am

    A tragic tale, well told.

    Like

  2. areadingwriter says:
    October 12, 2018 at 4:17 am

    Love the technique of shortening words. Reminds me of Shakespeare himself. 🙂

    Like

  3. Gina says:
    October 12, 2018 at 10:54 am

    there’s a pitch and tempo to your lines that is mesmerising Sara

    Like

  4. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) says:
    October 12, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    That pledge was one that should never been fulfilled…. sad and double sad.

    Like

  5. Frank Hubeny says:
    October 12, 2018 at 1:12 pm

    Very nice tale told as a sonnet. In particular I liked this line, both sound and sense: “the one who’s left, would toss their shell to sea.”

    Like

  6. Charmed Chaos says:
    October 12, 2018 at 6:08 pm

    What a beautiful story, and told so well in this form.

    Like

  7. Kathy Reed says:
    October 13, 2018 at 11:43 am

    Good read…loved the sea shell story and where it took me.

    Like

  8. lynn__ says:
    October 14, 2018 at 7:29 pm

    A tragically beautiful love song to the rhythm of waves…I like the sense of peace at the end.

    Like

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