Valentine for S

When you put your ear to a shell

You can hear the sea

Only its not the sea, but air

Reverberating between your ear

And the empty space of the shell.

But I'll still reach the pink conch
Off the shelf and listen.

It was only when we stopped

That I saw everyone watching

When we danced in the restaurant

A few days to go.
Woolly hat, green sarong, the pattern

On the cafe window on Mare Street

It's odd what you retain.

Air reverberating against the shell.

I gave no thought to memory then

Tea tree oil and lavender

Turn tumblers, and I hear the sea

Only it's not the sea, but time
Reverberating between heart and memory.