Sharp Teeth

I grew up to the sound-
track of waves
all around
this tiny little island

where trees offer
cool shade and fruit
of the brightest colours

the one setback was the sharks
that lurked in the water
and fed on my family
bled it dry
drop
by
drop

until it was just me
in the shack
beneath the mango tree

I sharpened a harpoon
and bided my time
to spear a shark on my line

but a storm raged all night
and I awoke to a row
of sharp shark teeth
a necklace along the shore
of this tiny little island

natural karma

Kim M. Russell, 20th November 2019

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Image found on Pinterest

I originally wrote this as an ekphrastic poem for this month’s Visual Verse, but it didn’t make the selection. I’m linking it as my second poem to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Surrealism in Poetry.

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