Constantine Mountrakis
Intertidal Fauna
The boys are wading in a tidal pool,
muddy sand caking their too trusting feet
The littoral water teems with dog whelk
that I mistook for pebbles, as my open mouth
sheds sandpiper feathers and negotiates
the sloughing of days from memory’s fragile plumage
I collect the boys and leave ahead of the sea’s baying maw,
it’s soft teeth a coral of drowned fathers.
Constantine Mountrakis is an anthropologist and writer from New York City. His work has appeared in Mojave River Review, Driftwood Press, and Lunch Ticket, among others. He currently teaches anthropology at NYIT and Queensborough Community College.
Return to September 2017 Edition
The boys are wading in a tidal pool,
muddy sand caking their too trusting feet
The littoral water teems with dog whelk
that I mistook for pebbles, as my open mouth
sheds sandpiper feathers and negotiates
the sloughing of days from memory’s fragile plumage
I collect the boys and leave ahead of the sea’s baying maw,
it’s soft teeth a coral of drowned fathers.
Constantine Mountrakis is an anthropologist and writer from New York City. His work has appeared in Mojave River Review, Driftwood Press, and Lunch Ticket, among others. He currently teaches anthropology at NYIT and Queensborough Community College.
Return to September 2017 Edition