Photograph©Vijaya Sundaram
Pearl Beyond Compare
(Underestimate)
©May 14th, 2016
By Vijaya Sundaram
Good at estimating
Hazarding a guess,
He could tell at a glance
The true price of everything,
But the value of nothing,
And he’d beat it down
To get what he wanted.
But when he picked up a
Pearl beyond compare,
Lying innocent and quiet
On the crab-infested beach,
He thought it a pebble
Laughed at its lumpiness,
Its monstrous size, saw nothing
In its shining depths,
Did not imagine riches
In its shimmering glow.
And he threw it away.
Into the hungry sea
And bought some fake ones
That cost him a fortune,
And possibly, his wife.
And the sea? She was glad
And she let him be.
She had received her due,
She would torment no one.
For what the sea releases
She takes back always, always.
For everything flows back
Home to the sea.
Do not underestimate her.
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P.S. I was thinking obliquely about John Steinbeck’s book The Pearl, but my character tosses this metaphorical pearl back into the sea without even seeing what it is, whereas Kino hangs on to his literal (and metaphorical) Pearl of the World, and pays a huge price, which is, in its turn, completely different from what Matthew spoke on in the well-known parable (13:46).
In response to The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt: Underestimate