I’m grateful I’m real.

I’m using the NaPoWriMo prompts either that I like or that don’t intimidate me, and this one I liked.

This is a bit silly, but it’s Saturday. I recently got a large illustrated guide to seashells. There are some pretty wild names for seashells. Today I challenge you to take a look at the list of actual seashell names below, and to use one or more of them to write a poem. You poem doesn’t have to be about seashells at all — just inspired by one or more of the names.

Peruvian Hat
Snout Otter Clam
Strawberry Top
Incised Moon
Sparse Dove
False Cup-and-Saucer
Leather Donax
Shuttlecock Volva
Striped Engina
Tricolor Niso
Triangular Nutmeg
Shoulderblade Sea Cat
Woody Canoebubble
Ghastly Miter
Heavy Bonnet
Tuberculate Emarginula
Lazarus Jewel Box
Unequal Bittersweet
Atlantic Turkey Wing

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Unequal Bittersweet

All the things we have in common
Are precisely what make us real.

A heartbreak that shakes you to the bone;
Love so intense it shakes your world;
A mistake you can never fix or turn back;
A victory or three you run on and run with.
A chance you didn’t take;
A code you didn’t break;
A betrayal of yourself and your values;
Forgiveness that gives you strength.
A crisis, or two, that doesn’t break you;
A crisis or two that breaks your spirit
And all the things that no longer serve it.
Music that moves and stills your core;
Words that make you feel less alone;
Loneliness so deep it drains you dry;
People so loving they fill you up, too.
A bridge you burn so you never go back;
A friendship you end so you can move on.

Life’s an unequal bittersweet pill
Which, if we are lucky, makes us juicy and real.