SHELLS

We find them on the shores
We find them by the forest stream & on the ocean floor.
  Things of complex shape & unique design
   Oh that of beauty rare...

Artistic they are – though lifeless they be
Evidence of that which is pasted away
Oh what a wondrous array...
  All the shells that remain.

We find them on the corner
We find them in the shops & on the train
  Things built with might & with grace
   All a wonder to behold – of glory yet untold...

Intelligent life – Though living,
    few have really known
  Craftsmanship prepared for what poets dream of...
   Though it be in shells we reside.

Consider these shells; all that they are,
There is more to them than appears
  Their value exceeds that which is seen
   It is what’s contained within

It must be believed in first
  If it is to be (at all) understood (?)
   It is already most worthy of our praise
  Only it needs to be received by us - to come alive.

Again – it is just that which we see
That seems to be most real...
  But even the simplest buildings
  Have rooms, furnishing & a foundation
  They are not merely brick walls

Also within these shells we all possess
It is how our contents are used or refused
  That can turn life into living at all !!