The Xmas Shell

Above the bureau radiant
your pink lips
opening to translucent orange
and tales of Kenyan times
when the rule of the Raj
a white flex to the motherland
destroyed your smooth corrugations

In Papua we buried the likes of you
letting the ants devour your innards
disinterring your carcass
to let it shine once more
varnished by the caress of the sea


Roger Smith 2009