irritations in your eye
which blind you to the beauty
you may somehow yet be
making from their shavings
for the sake of a beholder
whose tastes and purpose
your nervous system
for the sake of a beholder
whose tastes and purpose
your nervous system
was never built to imagine.
What is a pearl anyway
but thankless work
done in secret around some
but thankless work
done in secret around some
over-sensitivity?—
a little tenderness, perhaps
over time growing
too unwieldy for the oyster.
