As she bent to answer
the conch telephone –
hold it to her ear and take a call
from the bottom of the sea –
my wife found a sandal
washed ashore.
Green with algae and
black with mold,
the uppers were split,
its sole flapping.
Some sturdy glue
holds together what remains,
stitching no shipwreck
could undo.
It is the color of broccoli, charred
with oil, cracked pepper, and sea salt
that I learned to cook
in sheet pans this year.
A flapping soul –
how could it be otherwise?
Were we always these gulls
returning to land?
The Sunday Muse
Like this:
Like Loading...
qbit 
True dat ~~ having just removed our sheet pan dinner of roasted veggies and chicken thighs ~~~ yada yada. Seriously this is wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL! The NYT declared this “The Year of the Sheet Pan Everything.”
LikeLike
I like your conch tale in verse. Flapping soles? I had three pair of shoes develope flapping soles. Some were repairable with tough glue but other places flapped faster that I was fixing them. I only had sandals or a pair of slippers to wear. Finally I found one new pair that I liked and I wear it as all purpose. But still now that spring is here mostly I’ve gone back to sandals.
Oh yes, I was glad the connection made, of sorts.
..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Randall, you identify as a gull? I never would have guessed.
No, you can’t have my sandwich; go away!
“the conch telephone – / hold it to hear ear and take a call / from the bottom of the sea” Yep, that’s good. Time to order a pizza and crack open a Chianti.
LikeLiked by 1 person
AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gulls are screeching greedy so and so’s intent upon their own furtherance, so yes. Loved this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Incredible opening verses! Forgive me for wondering about the location of this beach? Your mind, I guess. Congratulations.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
I’m amused at the concept of a flapping soul, and wondering if it intentionally replaced sole. Great write!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. Yes, I was thinking that souls might need wings, and also that they might be somewhat unsteady or uncertain, a bit tattered.
LikeLike
This is brilliant and wonderful from conch telephone, glue that surely fixes everything, and flapping sole to flapping soul! Definitely worth the wait Qbit!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!!
LikeLike
The sea calls and we answer & our souls flapping about like gulls – so surrealistic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh the grilled green of broccoli and such…It has appeared often in our world.” It is the color of broccoli, charred with oil, cracked pepper, and sea salt” love that description of a shoe
LikeLiked by 1 person