In a shallow sea
Beneath the waning sun
Waves rolling by
Gently to the shore
The ebb tide comes
The Island transformed
Another rock
Beside the ocean
On a shoreline of nothing
But rock and sand
The ebb tide comes
The Island transformed
Another rock
Beside the ocean
On a shoreline of nothing
But rock and sand
I am the sun
In a merciless sky
Casting heat shimmers on the endless sand
I am the night
Starless, moonless
An impenetrably dark fortress of isolation
I am too the calm
When the air is a puff of fragrant breeze
And birdsong carries for miles
And I am the earth
Fertile and life-giving
The solid ground underfoot
And I am the light
Illuminating the deepest darkness
Connected to all that is and ever will be
“Ahhh!”
He theatrically intones
Before another whistling breath
“Smell that fresh air!”
Musky dung beyond barbwire
Making us gag
As we pass his home
In a small development
Surrounded by farmer’s fields
“Mr. Abbott!” sang the chorus
No safer place
Than a chair by the glass
Rain pelting the panes
Droplets running into lines
Refracting dying light
Journal in hand
The lamp set low
Raise my glass of red
To waves rumbling on the sand
I stand
On the exposed bar of sand
Close my eyes
And listen
For the wind
And the waves
And the shutter click
Counting out the seconds
One by one by one by one
The clouds
Roil and tumble above
In grandiose parade
Across azure sky
With every step
I feel a little smaller
A lone figure
Isolated on an expanding horizon
Until I stop
Breathe deeply
Breathe in all this
Glorious enormity
Unplanned
Unforeseen
Unforeseeable
Sometimes
The magic
Simply arises
It was dismal grey and a little rainy when I left home, bound for the ferry terminal. A promising start.
Such hopeful sight
Is breaking through
The smoky sky
Now blue above
And gold below
Backlit, the tone
Of tungsten haze
Then, lower, emerald
Of the trees
These, gratefully
Have not (yet) burned