Poem du Jour w/ Richard Wyndham

Richard Wyndham has been posting a poem a day on his Poem Du Jour list serve for the last few years. We are preparing for this wonderful evening of poetry read by Richard’s  subscribers.  Stop by, you’re assured to hear at least one month’s worth of poetry!

He posted this poem today on August 21th, 2015 by Mary Oliver

Mussels

In the riprap
in the cool caves,
in the dim and salt-refreshed
recesses, they cling
in dark clusters ,
in barnacled fistfuls,
in the dampness that never
leaves, in the deeps
of high tide, in the slow
washing away of the water
in which they feed,
in which the blue shells
open a little, and the orange bodies
make a sound,
not loud.
not unmusical, as they take
nourishment, as the ocean
enters their bodies. At low tide
I am on the riprap, clattering
with boots and a pail,
rock over rock; I choose
the crevice, I reach
forward into the dampness,
my hands feeling everywhere
for the best, the biggest. Even before
I decide which to take,
which to twist from the wet rocks,
which to devour,
they, who have no eyes to see with,
see me, like a shadow,
bending forward. Together
they make a sound,
not loud,
not unmusical, as they lean
into the rock, away
from my grasping fingers.