Poseidon's bones

 Meerschaum, color of bone, hard as stone

Floats on water as a foam

Soft when wet, when dry set

When smoked turns red, yellow, brown colors bled

Absorbed in this fragile home

Fixed to a pipe of brier, will not heat in a fire

Often stored on the end of a gourd

Carved incense burner bright

Fragrant smells its tale tells

Polished, sanded much demanded

Companion day and night

Floating stone, chip of sea bone

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Pipes carved from meerschaum were once highly valued by sailors and seamen. They're still not very cheap to purchase but by a much smaller clientele of collectors and smokers these days. I had a friend from Virginia who was a collector of the pipes. I enjoyed the read.

[Soren]

Thanks Fabian had to break the rule of writing about something close to the heart and take another road. Thanks for the read and comment Fabian.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

vivid and evocative. upon first reading i was struck by your mastery of phonetics. this verse 'sounds' very good, haunting and foreboding. on a second reading the imagery became more clear. the water, which is beautiful to the eye yet at the same time treacherous. using mythology as a starting point, this work takes a very unexpected direction. powerful stuff.

[Soren]

Thank you so much Ern your comments are taken with instructive care and valued as precious gems.

[Martiya Daman]

Beautifully captures the essence of meerschaum, from its softness to its transformation. Great poem, Soren!

[Soren]

Thank you so much for the review of this piece. I guess a poem can be written about anything