Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Snails and Oysters by Finlay Mangan
Snails and Oysters by Finlay Mangan
Snails and Oysters by Finlay Mangan
Snails and Oysters by Finlay Mangan
Words by
11.10.2024
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Snails and Oysters
‍
Brined the upsetÂ
‍
Turned it intoÂ
the perfectÂ
pickledÂ
work forceÂ
‍
Learned how to hold hands
againÂ
‍
Smiled with teethÂ
this time
Â
--
‍
I took a showerÂ
and moisturizedÂ
‍
After
my ear gunk wasÂ
wet enough to beÂ
easedÂ
out of itsÂ
canalÂ
with a q-tipÂ
‍
I smell of flowersÂ
and the shea butterÂ
still stuckÂ
between the webs
of my fingersÂ
‍
Human hands aren’t webbedÂ
anymoreÂ
but I think I have more webÂ
than mostÂ
more flagina than averageÂ
‍
Like netsÂ
between theÂ
twin hullsÂ
of a British catamaran
my flaginasÂ
catching the shea butterÂ
‍
I applied the excess across my body
like Tony Curtis’s Antoninus applied oil across the body
of Laurence Olivier’s Marcus Licinius Crassus
in Stanley Kubrik’s 1960 film “Spartacus”
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If only my tastes included both snails and oysters
Hmmmm
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