Emeralds

A sparkle catches my eye

A splinter of emerald green

Almost unseen

Peaking through kelp and apricot

shells

Beckoning me

I reach down and unearth it

Brushing off damp sand and salt

It's a piece of glass

Smooth and weighty

The curve of a bottle

So ugly and ordinary in it's past

life

Now a thing of great beauty

A gem lying in the palm of my

hand

I ponder it's journey

Running curious fingers over

chiseled angles

Then slip it into my pocket

Another mermaid's tear for my

collection