Pearl

Half alive was I, left unnoticed

lying on an ocean bed half hidden

from the sun, moon and human

don’t know who was he, who

sent him,God, fate or his free will,

picked me gently on palm,

wrapped me in a velvet cloth,

dusted me off the grime of time
insensitive to my innate gleam

polished with love, separating 

from grey mass transformed me
to a coveted pearl profound

worthy of life's golden round.
I am  proud out of the shroud

to adorn  the neck, ear, finger
of men, women and lovers keen

a prized gem, my shine divine,
enchants and enriches royalty:

I owe  the palms that released me

from the slushy sandy shell
as resurrected dew of nectar
fit to be crest jewel on the crown
of life's variegated kingdom.

Sabita Sahu