Self-Sufficiency

BEFORE the sharks and flounders swam
I was the clam, the only clam.
I have been always what I am,
Autonomous life, the only clam.

I feel the pressure of the tides
Change against my pearly sides.
Soulless pebbles rattle by
Never guessing I am I.
It enchants me they don’t know
How near to royalty they go.

Occasionally, for my sake,
The waves go farther out to break.
The sun beats down upon my sand,
I majestically expand,
I move my unique diaphragm;
Noblesse oblige. I am THE CLAM.