Marine Snow
In her first full-length book of poetry, Mary explores themes of struggle and hope. She shares her commitment to help others who face traumatic pasts and mental health challenges. For readers who may not personaly wrestle with these issues, her poetry provides an invaluable window into this world.
NEWEST POETRY PUBLICATION
Marine Snow seeps into the crevices
Between grains of sand on the seafloor.
Lurid whites interrupt beach browns:
Corroding, microscpoic pebbles
Chomped and spit out by parrotfish
Survived decades of bashing waves.
Peace is interrupted by the rotting flesh
Of barracudas ast, staining the quiet
Resting place of ancient pains.
Bury me under the seafloor sand,
Only to be reached by essential traces
Of dissolved oxygen, marine snow.
Grant me a merciful sepulture
For I have become tired, recreant,
And can hold no more burden.
Submerging my senses in sweet
Salacious diversions, narcotic remedies, Finally fails to protect me
From the shadows that besiege by heart.
About the Artist
Sharon Elwell is an artist, graphic designer, and creative director based in Massachusetts. She designed the covers and interior layouts of Marine Snow. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts Art and Design in Boston. Sharon’s work is deeply emotional and expressive, invariably capturing the boundless intricacies of human emotion. Just as expansive as her breadth of emotional literacy is her palette of artistic materials: oil paint, resin, custom-designed paper, wax, ash, fabric, and glass. Elwell’s father was a stained glass artist; growing up with light shining through translucent, colorful windows had a profound impact on her artistic vision. Throughout her flourishing career spanning over 35 years, Sharon has been most loyal to her fearless sense of curiosity; her works have a distinct sense of color, texture, and composition even as her mediums and materials evolve. Her works breathe enduring life into the fleeting instances of wonder that pervade the most meaningful moments of the human experience.
"Sharon's design expertise and seemingly endless creative capability has given my poetry a new depth of life, a visual companionship that has allowed me to further understand my own writing."
-Mary Barba, author of Marine Snow