An attempt at a more humorous poem. Hoping I wrote the French correctly. Fingers crossed.
la telline, en français,
delighted me as a child.
I’d dig them up
with my plastic shovel,
then watch them
wiggle back down,
again and again.
The clam gone,
the joy of finding a shell intact
was treasure.
Two wings of calcium carbonate,
pastel-colored loveliness -
a butterfly in the sand.
Inside, smooth and shiny,
fragility left behind.
Imagine my surprise
when, on a trip to France,
a pot of these tiny clams
arrived swimming in garlic and butter.
C’est bon. C’est très bon.
The shells tossed aside,
the tiny clams
wiggled once more -
this time
down into my belly.
Childhood memories are delicious.
Poetry by Melinda K Zarate
Read 18 times
Written on 2026-01-30 at 02:32
Save as a bookmark (requires login)
Write a comment (requires login)
Send as email (requires login)
Print text
Everything’s Better with Butter and Garlic
Those tiny clams, coquina here,la telline, en français,
delighted me as a child.
I’d dig them up
with my plastic shovel,
then watch them
wiggle back down,
again and again.
The clam gone,
the joy of finding a shell intact
was treasure.
Two wings of calcium carbonate,
pastel-colored loveliness -
a butterfly in the sand.
Inside, smooth and shiny,
fragility left behind.
Imagine my surprise
when, on a trip to France,
a pot of these tiny clams
arrived swimming in garlic and butter.
C’est bon. C’est très bon.
The shells tossed aside,
the tiny clams
wiggled once more -
this time
down into my belly.
Childhood memories are delicious.
Poetry by Melinda K Zarate
Read 18 times
Written on 2026-01-30 at 02:32
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text|
Xerxes Riffraff |
