Sandpaper scales of sharkskin
were planted in jaws unhinging;
neural crest cells on skates
erupted in wolf snarl,
stalactite tusks of the walrus,
the bonny smile of first love:

gates of Heaven, jaws of Hell.
The polished shell with mantle root
glistens on fairy string
like trout on a trotline,
a ledger of blood transactions
for juvenile advancement

into the uncolored world
pained by the impact of wisdom.
The bud. The cap. The bell
tolls for the rising crowns
high above the continuum;
the cemented smiles conform.