THE ASTRONAUT AND THE SHELL

The twilight, the blue hour
and then a frightened moon
and the trees so black against the sky

On my ship I choose to stay still 

and sail, waving to the dawn,
jumpy waters touching my face

Only then, in the deep, I press the shell
close to my ear, and listen
to the waves of a long-distance call

But her whisper's so low!

I choose then to feel my dear nautilus
with loving hands intead of ears

So I find where exactly in her body
convex drifts into concave under the suture,
the rib placement, the art déco columnella,

where exactly the gracious curve of fortune
meets her outer lip on a sharp angle,
like a fragrant kiss, a polished opening

Then I enter with quiet wonder 
the pearly enclosure of her echo chambers
and caress the nacreous walls with wavering fingers

and whisper in her insides something like a spiral wish,
a wordless desire like a song that brings together in time
the moon, the stars, the sands, and all the blues

Sándalo Naranja