DEATH PEARLS

DEATH PEARLS

i have aged,

apparently

according to some papers and screens,

slight lines that whisper old jokes

back into my skin,

in case i’ve misplaced them

in my happy files

buying new shoes for my child

who grows so unapologetically

it is nearly an insult

taller and taller he gets

and apparently,

I have aged

we sat for a dinner of killed things

to celebrate,

i bit down

with such enthusiasm -

cracked my tooth on the pearl

a mussel was harboring

in death

i wonder

what pearls might the universe

break a tooth upon ?

when it comes time

to devour me