a boy is a dream is a god is an atom by Maya Cheav

"a shell is a corner for love to hide in."

a boy is a dream is a god is an atom
by Maya Cheav

a shell is a slice-of-life novel.
a shell is a shovel for sandcastles,
a piece of a memory for a young boy to make
when he goes to the beach for the first time
on his sixth birthday.
a shell is a corner for love to hide in.
a shell is a ghost,
an echo from the other dimension,
keeper of tragedies.
a shell is a treasure of great magnitude,
one that was meant to sit on a glass shelf
in a museum
to be admired properly.
a shell is a weapon,
a means of self-defense.
a shell is a vessel,
fortitude for new spirits seeking shelter
from an unforgiving universe.
a shell is the world in the palm of your hand.
or maybe a shell is just a shell.

First published in by-the-wind-sailor with Rockwood Press, 2026.