Poetry: Poems by Claire

Planet Schmanet My homeland bears a shroud of turquoise now and trees are crimson rock that crack the sky; coal splinters rain on every leafless bough their jagged scratchings screech and prophesy. The ocean bubbles liquid amber glass and gilded swells hot-smelt the frosted shore. No savage swims beneath the boiling mass, no creature flies above its feral roar. A single beast attends my ruined throne; it shrieks and wails, a keen for absent prey. Thin sapphire flesh drips from its onyx bone and fetid breath proclaims the brute's decay. I do not mourn the loss of conquered reign; the hunt resumes, another trophy slain. Copyright © 1995 Claire A. Schaeffer