Rose Strode caller

The Purple Sea Urchin Asks a Question in Modified Elegiac Couplets

O world
we love
your taste
your green
gold taste
your stippled
texture

star-jawed
we chew
through rock
through shell
up kelp
we stealth –
mouthfully
sightlessly
we ease
through the world
on our teeth –
pervious
edible
world | world
edible
pervious

calcium
carbonate
spines spike
through the shells
of ourselves
each point
sensitive
crystalline
movable
violet
we are

needle nests
we are crowns
but our mouths
mouth mouths
out of the
submarine
forests

O world –
whose hunger
are we?

“When Rose and I first spoke, we explored the topic of structures and what that meant to each of us. We wanted to create a response with a back and forth, that built a structure of its own. When Rose brought up the idea of a quilt, I was so excited. I knew I wanted to create something with fabric, knitting together ideas. When I received Rose’s first poem, I was inspired by the detailed imagery of the underwater world she created. I jotted down key words and then pulled out fabrics that matched the rhythm and texture of the world. Her second poem was structured with short lines and I matched that with my own short pieces of fabric, all ending at different lengths like the lines of the poem.”

“In this project, I took on the roll of the urchin, eating through fabric, but then bringing it back together to form something new. I repurposed fabric from my life, taking scraps of old shirts and coats. Repurposed fabric is full of life with frayed edges, worn surfaces, and texture that inspired me. I love the planet and want to help the environment by repurposing objects for my art.”