Nature Tromp ii - Shell (absent)

ii. Shell (absent)

mucus train, wet—quickly
evaporating in the warm sun
top of the fence post—wait it out slug
reach for a leaf, take a dive down
your shell not quite absent
tucked up under your saddle-shaped mantle
little platelette, a fall can break you
after all you have no visceral mass
stacked up organs atop a foot

garden vines are thick and wirey
tomato red grow up and around your cages
flower out on top of, not through, the metal squares
carefully spaced apart, planted early
now you brush and sway against a breeze, touching

foot—thin and watery pull ahead, pedal and push-
thick and sticky yet
travel up, follow shadows, accordion movements

your tentacles are going
sensory-lower and shorter-smell and taste
optic-upper and longer you can see—
look for leaves, taste dead decaying produce
your radula is tongue tied and heavy,
quick tiny tooth like denticles are ensured
choke and strangle tight
shredded cacophony of leaves in your wake

to think just moments ago
hanging from a slime cord
you mated in mid-air
bluish swelling genitalia all pushed out
your mate wrapped tightly around
both simultaneouly male and female
taking and giving sperm
your fertilization pocket isn’t far from your food
drop out your 1,000+ batch of eggs
all laid out in a continuous string.
as you dip and dive past salt streams,
buried beer cans to drown you
eating and eating a fertile laid out plot

a scoop and you’re mine, palm centered
a push of mucus and you’ve marked me
curl and writhe under the current
salt can penetrate your delicate muscles
when poured directly on

little slug you were set to
die, the air is changing-
it’s going cold and moistureless here