Scrimshaw

First find that special pebble on the beach.

Then turn it over

See the seethe of insects of the sea

Delve and dive into the sealing sand

Then dig deep

Past fathom five where fathers lie

Past broken timbers and bronze cannon

Down to the graves of whales

To the secret cemeteries of the deep

Where sleep the elephant seals

Amid whose tumbled bones

Glint tusk-like teeth

On which at last I scratch

These my words.

The vivid crimson of the rose

Darkens at dusk, as the light goes.

The scarlet start of blood on skin

Cakes and blackens, as life goes.

While break of day revives the rose

There is no dawn for dead men.