Scallop Song
By Anne Waldman
I wore a garland of the briar that put me now in awe
I wore a garland of the brain that was whole
It commanded me, done babbling
And I no more blabbed, spare no lie
Tell womanhood she shake off pity
Tell the man to give up tumult for the while
To wonder at the sight of baby's beauty
Ne let the monsters fray us with things that not be
From a high tower poem issuing
Everything run along in creation till I end the song
Ne none fit for so wild beasts
Ne none so joyous, ne none no give no lie
Tell old woes to leave off here:
I sing this into a scallop shell with face of a pearl
& leave all sorrow bye & bye.
Copyright Credit: Anne Waldman, “Scallop Song” from Helping the Dreamer: Selected Poems, 1966-1988. Copyright © 1989 by Anne Waldman. Reprinted with the permission of Coffee House Press, Minneapolis, www.coffeehousepress.com.
Source: Helping the Dreamer: Selected Poems 1966-1988 (Coffee House Press, 1989)