Beached Bones

We searched for bones on the beach
broken and scattered, like our own.
We found bits and pieces in the sand
scarred and glistening, oozing oil
still unbleached by salt and exile.

We’ve been looking for our bones
between the hot sky and the tall grass
for all these years, you and I.

We’ve been collecting them, shining them,
hanging them on hooks and strings,
pressing them against our skin,
listening for an echo that would explain
the gold in your hair and the slant of my eyes,
seeking stories beyond this wearying deception
of naming and being named.

We hid all these teeth and vertebrae
in your pockets, not wanting to lose them
again in the blue anonymity of the sea.


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Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné lives in Sangre Grande, Trinidad. She is an English teacher, and has been drawing and writing for as long as she can remember. Previous publications include Bim: Arts for the 21st Century, The Caribbean Writer, and Tongues of the Ocean.