Crustacean
By Lizzie Elliot-Klein
I have started to feel
my edges compressing.
My soul beginning
to ooze from the seams.
This battle-worn shell,
once sanctuary now prison,
is weighing me down
like a tangle of guilt.
Time to withdraw
for me to expand.
I crack myself open
and drag myself free.
All of my softness
and all of my edges
unfurling now
in this metamorphosis.
I pick clean the gold
from my pale frail echo.
Extracting the lessons,
to build wiser foundations.
A new temple rising
from the ashes of me.
Coming into my power
with every small death.
Lizzie Elliot-Klein
Lizzie Elliot-Klein is a poet, nature connection guide and mother rooted in Plymouth, UK. She is a lover of nature beings, good coffee, loud music, cuddling cats, the thrill of a charity shop bargain and the smell of the earth after the rain. Her work is inspired by the natural world, matresence and the intricate connections that are woven in the Web of Life.
Photo credit: Aswin Karuvally
Apricot Press 