Her universal potter’s wheel, and
and stars awhirl beneath her hands.
Beyond the glass, the chalky Cliffs of Dover,
patient catalogue of protists, ancient
tracks and trailing filigree
of coccolithophores.
High priestess, she kneads
these fossil creatures tenderly
into her white clay body, dares
to put a new spin on things.
Half a world away, a scientist
traces the curves of her high-fired
porcelain, grows tearful at the realization
he’s drinking tea with the organisms
he ordinarily peers at through a lens
in a dark and silent room.
Claire Beynon
(begun in September 2010 & completed in January 2014)