Skip to main content

Leirvik Oysters, a poem by Chandy John

Editor's Note: May 17 is Norway Constitution Day

Leirvik Oysters
by Chandy John

Thick algae-green shell
Delicate pattern, unyielding mouth
Cracked open with force and skill
Yields slimy, salty, repellent joy
Nose, mouth, tongue
Inhale
The western Norway coast
Remains in stomach memory


From Chandy John: “I'm a a pediatrician, researcher and author whose prose, poems and fiction have been published in Sojourners, Phantasmagoria, JAMA, The Pharos, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine and The Michigan Alumnus. I live and work in Indiana, Kenya and Uganda.”