halong

There is a caw as we circle the umbilical boats,
pride flapping as we turn.
The rocks stand witness to great events
that have reached into this harbour
and left their marks.
The temple on stilts winks in the dawn
atop its isosceles perch.
The tenders chop the calm and swaying waters.

I smell fat on the galley stove.
No need for comfort of lifeboats
as we slowly weave through the
short and long ones.

Rubbish stacked high on every beach.
We leave the designated crowd behind,
look forward to direction-less grey
and seas with only distant shadow
of features, opposed to the
surrounding circle of old judges.

15/2/2011

Artemis Leader

With hope sent away on wings to the sky
She knelt at the shrine and burned
in the dimming. I felt my fingers
tingle.
And the outboard chugged away
when I felt every 'thug' in the
rattan underneath.
To pilot in darkness, her children
raised before us as she
descended.

14/2/2011

caves

The smooth bit of ribbon trailing through
waves that look like the cave ceiling.
Like an ancient plasterer leaving their
marks, fleeing from passing invaders.
Red and black paint from 19 oh six.
Prehistoric remains and flags in the
breeze.

The old man stares at the woman
buying chocolate bars.
Southern bathers feeling their way
through the chill.

And the rock suspended on stilts
while the kite wheels away.

A hunt for the sun, direction
through the dragon's children.
Limestone perfume and smell of
jackets, coal barges and silence.

14/2/2011