Ann Thornfield-Long
An Exposure of Evolution
The sun drives all of us worshipers
to the shore where wind cools us
beneath the pale shade of plants.
Easing our bodies into and out of the sea,
we find treasures of ocean on the sand. Shells
drenched in nacre, that shiny mix of mineral and life.
Mother-of pearl glints my shoulders and thighs.
Overnight, I am a new creature, stars on my skin,
kin to the mollusks as we both wash onto shore
with a million prayers, our feelers are limbs,
touch, our language, soft and slick,
in Darwinian dance for the blush of new species.
Amorous, adapting. We discover the holy gift
of love as the sun slides us under the gentle canopy
of blindness.
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Ann Thornfield-Long comes from a line of shade-tree mechanics, writers and gospel singers. She has stories and poems in Artemis, Still: The Journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, Riddled with Arrows, Silver Blade and others. She enjoys driving cross-country, playing the ukulele, and trivia games with her hysterical family. She lives in Appalachia.
Backstory: “This poem came about by considering global warming and how a species might change. I am a beach lover and fascinated by the rainbow beauty of mother of pearl. I wondered what it might be like to be able to create it like the mollusks do. I find it amazing that nacre is both organic and inorganic. I also like thinking about how much I admire those who make pearls out of uncomfortable things, like disabilities or limitations.”
Editor’s Notes/Image Citation: Image Credit: Concha e pérolas/Shell and pearls (photograph by the Portuguese artist, Mauro Cateb) is combined with mermaid with iridescent tail (cleanpng.com). It is interesting to note that nacre is the layering of aragonite (calcium carbonate made by marine organisms) with organic secretions containing proteins, glycoproteins, chitin, lipids, and other molecules.
