Spring Seawall

drifting along
a beautiful
seawall on
an island,

they have
no agenda,
nor purpose.

nothing's
important
on a day 
like this.


quarried stone
holds back waves,

waves breaking
unnaturally
on hard stone.

make no mistake;
any rock weathers
on these edges.

some last longer
than others. 
 
these stones last 
longer than we do.


for us the people 
are always the story.

and here, the story 
is that the people
do not seem so 
very important.

not much going on,
no real dramas
are unfolding.


the drama here
is all unseen,
and unseeable,
or maybe 
the drama is
the landscape.
 

Ring of Fire

   mute evidence of 
long ago eruption, 

   cooling rocks 
swim in warm 
   pacific waves.

      a thousand
   miles away
a gentle breeze
   stirred a sea,

   and pushed a
surface droplet
against another
      and another.

   the pile rose 
and now waves 
      wash over
these dark rocks,

      we watch their
rhythmical arrival,
   hear a pattern
      of splashes.

they could be a clock,
   dividing our days.

      we might live
between wave peaks,
   resting in valleys.

      and how the sun 
burns down on us.

Beach House Memory

Beach House Memory

more than a hundred
   years have passed.

   these lava rocks:
a high foundation
      on sea's edge.

high up, it had to be,
      because rogue 
   waves are real.

      and in the time,
more than a hundred
   years, many rogue
waves have washed

such lava foundations,
belief systems have
      collapsed and 
      been replaced.

   some events can
never be foreseen.

Lava Causeway

   when the tide
height's right, 
   you may see
      this sight.

   a causeway
to black rocks
      in a warm
pacific ocean.

   lava flowed;
it flowed again.
we wandered,
     free as wind.

beside the sea,
a safe and easy 
      place to set
our tired feet,

walking in our
   city shoes,
      smelling
   wonderful
salty breezes.

Old Lava Flow

      forever,
it flowed to the sea:
   hot orange rock,
thick liquid rolling,

   down to the sea,
too hot to imagine.

bright orange
      in darkness,

      flowing lava
   makes such a
festive nighttime
   show for all
   the tourists.

      steam hisses as
   liquid rock hits
the ocean waves.

   cooling boulders
fall even further,

under the waves
   until something
      stops them.

Fire Air and Water

      a beach 
with no name,
where the lava
   flowed down
      to the sea,

   a secret place,
not on any map,

but a friendly
   local told us
      we should go.

   such a quiet,
private place
   in paradise!

no other tourists,
      we listened to
waves smashing
   on lava rocks

      the sound of
   seabirds and
the south pacific!

      a beach 
with no name,
where the lava
   flowed down
      to the sea,

   a secret place,
not on any map

South Sea Shore

      waves in the
water, smashing
on a lava shore,

   hot tropical
      sunshine
      leaves me 
wanting more.

   a wall separates 
us from each other
      and our world.

      a return 
      to those
lava islands,

sea colours
      splashing
around the
rocks swirled. 

      those times
   have passed;
those times may 
      not return.

   we always try
but sometimes
      fail to learn.

Wave Break

once in a long time,
the wave you tried
      to photograph

is exactly right
   as your mind
   saw it, is there
in the camera.

   frozen, mid-air,
stopped and you
   see everything

as it was, and
      you want to
shout, really
      really loud.

   did i mention,
      it doesn't 
happen often?


      the horizon 
clearly curves,
   downwards
   at the ends,
 
      when you get
   high enough
         you see it.

   sometimes we
need to see things
   from a little
      higher up,
 
      than our 
usual position 
to see things 
      as they
really are.

View From Above

   from way up there
i could see for miles.
the horizon curved.

(nothing flat there)
   the view was fine.

   island paradises
are sweet spots
   for a quick visit.

      why do i always
want to go home
about two weeks
   after arriving?

beautiful ocean
blue green and
      cloudy skies. 

gorgeous place
      with stories
   everywhere...

      tropical rain
keeps things green

pirates died 
      of thirst
across the way.

      fifteen men on
a dead man's chest.
it was over there,
   on that beach.

and then the wind
blew up, furious!
      we had to go.