Hi, I'd appreciate any feedback on this poem, especially on my use of similes. I have used three in one poem, two of which are culinary - do they perhaps blur the message? If I say so myself, this poem has tended to go down quite well at readings, though I suspect this is partly due to the subject matter and one of the similes in particular.

SNAIL SHELLS

I love the curl and wisp of them,
their eye-esque globularity
pocked by smiley nooks and angles

strange currencies
glowing on garden walls
or twinkling on suburban double-yellows.
They multiply in evening rain,
soak in moisture
like oiled-up button mushrooms sizzling in pans.

I love their differences –
some are flashily extravagant: sheeny spheres
banded in star-spangled rings,
glittering gypsies telling fortunes,
bangled hands embracing crystal balls;

others are they shyer sort -
subtle ruminants of unassuming brown
like Werther's Originals
tucked at the bottom of the pack,

Certain shells encapsulate
a subtle blend of two extremes -
pale backs ribboned in a single dash,
puzzles veiled in silent stars.

One by one they freckle lamplit avenues,
crop up like conkers,
and their bulbous bodies seem
to speak of pasts.