Structural Coloration
by Anissa Mumford
I come from Topolobampo trails:
a gray seaside nest of troca shell nacre--
candied glaze of saltwater pearl. I come from
the shine of dogbane beetle,
silent speck on your kitchen window.
Swarovski crystal bead a miniature,
microscopic place I call home.
Hummingbird throat, desert rainbowfish, peacock ore
pueblo of Pollia condensata; circumhorizontal arcs
are my fire rainbow refuge.
I come from hidden silver stitching,
from a scratched CD surface,
its opalescence, from a cracked side-view mirror,
from chipped paua shell.
I come from soft color-shifting flame,
melted wax moraine.
Black-engined boats flood the sea,
and emerald-violet duck heads drip with oil,
creatures lathered in unforgiving light.
I come from their fuel-dipped multicolor feathers, from
the stars, the mirrored gleam of night sky,
the funeral-folded flag: wedge of nylon remembrance.
Deccan plateau gecko bellies glisten,
shine like buoyant bubbles against pearlescent begonia leaves.
I come from their endangered skin,
that shine-encrusted establishment.
I come from somewhere radiant.
I come from somewhere small.
by Anissa Mumford
I come from Topolobampo trails:
a gray seaside nest of troca shell nacre--
candied glaze of saltwater pearl. I come from
the shine of dogbane beetle,
silent speck on your kitchen window.
Swarovski crystal bead a miniature,
microscopic place I call home.
Hummingbird throat, desert rainbowfish, peacock ore
pueblo of Pollia condensata; circumhorizontal arcs
are my fire rainbow refuge.
I come from hidden silver stitching,
from a scratched CD surface,
its opalescence, from a cracked side-view mirror,
from chipped paua shell.
I come from soft color-shifting flame,
melted wax moraine.
Black-engined boats flood the sea,
and emerald-violet duck heads drip with oil,
creatures lathered in unforgiving light.
I come from their fuel-dipped multicolor feathers, from
the stars, the mirrored gleam of night sky,
the funeral-folded flag: wedge of nylon remembrance.
Deccan plateau gecko bellies glisten,
shine like buoyant bubbles against pearlescent begonia leaves.
I come from their endangered skin,
that shine-encrusted establishment.
I come from somewhere radiant.
I come from somewhere small.