Postcard from Eleuthera

Metrosphere 2004-2005

I wonder, can you smell the ocean?

Will you see the sun rise,
and as its rays reach
the midday peak, will you
squint and bow with me?

Do you feel the heat? You
are hoping that the breeze,
landing softly like a blown kiss,
swells to a gust.

Can you touch the stillness, broken
only by the flap of a bird
in pursuit of a bug en route to
its hole in the sand?

And, if the crab cries out in
the dark as the night heron
picks it apart, leaving limbs and torso
for the ants, will you hear it?

When you leave, will you take home
the taste of turquoise? Lick the inside
of a conch and the flavor is pure pink,
with a hint of white sand.