What The Sea Spits Out

Every time you say
you love seashells,
I know what you mean
is that you love conch
and whelk and nautilus.

That you love
the broad fans of scallop shells,
spiral mollusks, sea snails,
white sand dollars
like round suns,
lying like jewels
on the edge of the sea.

I am a kind of seashell, too:
a handful of color,
sharp-edged grit,
sea glass, sand,
coral and whale bone,
and shining,
here and there,
with mother of pearl.