Conch

rare metal
talisman
pebble
held to my ear
shell that transmits the sound
of an unsleeping ocean
the frothy sound
of a billion bubbles breaking
as the cohesive tension
in the surface of a temporary globe
gives way
releasing waves
vibrations
that snake into a bony labyrinth
spiral shaped
inside my head
gushing little words
babbling like blood

shell that transmits the sound
of an unsleeping lover
opposite to our epic sphere
i wear your syllables around my neck
i feel them on my throat
as they pass through the larynx
and in return
the obscure kiss of your opening lips

my ear, itself a shell
a snail, a screw thread
that cups, Archimedes-like
the frosty acoustics of a wireless language
a long echo
ricocheting off the membrane
of a hurtling satellite
a cosmic mirror
miles above reflective Antarctica
awake
where the extended groan of glacial collapse
courses imminently through frozen terrain

we whisper
our strange phrases
wywh
the sound of yahweh
the word of god
it crackles in electromagnetic winds
into packets and particles of broken meaning
fragments amongst the background worldly natter
as ambient noise interferes with our quiet prayer

speak

Seashell Resonance

Life of the Ocean Wave (Nature, 2002)

The Science of Long Distance Satellite Telecommunications

YHWH