The Pearl

The aquamarine sea,

Where waves throw

A constant barrage

Against its shifting borders,

As the tide flows in,

As the tide flows out,

Leaving tide pools

Teeming with creatures,

Where life began

So many eons ago.

Under the water,

And basking in the sunlight,

An oyster enjoys the salty freshness.

As the waters flow past

In constant commotion,

The innocent opens its shell

Just long enough to partake,

And in an unguarded moment,

Takes in a grain

Of hardened quartz sand.

It tries to spit it out

To no avail.

The sand sits unmoving

Inside the oyster’s shell,

A perpetual irritation

Against its soft unguarded flesh

That does not ever quit.

And in this pool of life,

The oyster attempts to forget

The weakness it holds,

This irritating imperfection,

But that sand never goes away,

Never goes away.

In time the creature learns

To put a smooth protective layer

Around the unrelenting object

That it tolerates more easily:

A shiny round white pearl,

A treasured lesson in endurance,

And overcoming weaknesses,

And imperfections,

Learned at such great price.