Shell of a Serpent--By Allison Grayhurst--Canada

Shell of a Serpent

These are great things,
what you take
with your mounting neglect.
They are things cast out
of the 'beautiful', that
dig into polar ice and
fossilize there; numb, cold,
indistinguishable.

And though you feel superior,
inhuman, hovering above
with a face carved
in one constant expression, you yourself
will not give light to the
lonely, will not illuminate
for the sake of another's need.

Your own pain, (cunning, hunting) is a
tentacle that quivers cold-blooded
for pity's gullible caress:

You distance your heart from the humble dancers.
Allison Grayhurst is a member of the League of Canadian Poets. Twice nominated for Sundress Publications “Best of the Net” 2015, she has over 825 poems published in over 360 international journals. She has eleven published books of poetry, seven collections, eight chapbooks, and a chapbook pending publication. She lives in Toronto with her family. She also sculpts, working with clay; www.allisongrayhurst.com