poetry

The People Parade, as told by L’il Foot, the Little Penguin

The People Parade, as told by L’il Foot, the Little Penguin

they’re there all day if you look hard enough
one or two scattered along the boardwalk
hidden in the scrub

but it’s only when the light goes rose
that they gather by the hundreds
wide pockets of bodies
lining the shore

we wait for them to settle down
my mates and me
then when they’re calm and quiet
we move in close
to see them face-to-face

they make so many calls
it’s hard to know what they mean
squealing and cooing
trotting up the path

I like to stand still sometimes
let them flow around me like a river
of legs and eyes and voices
and wonder what their homes look like inside
where exactly are they hurrying off to?

it’s different every night
this evening there were four
who matched each step with mine
as if I were escorting them home
out under the stars together
heading back after a long day’s fishing

we took it easy together
ambling up the hill
the smallest one didn’t even wear trainers
he left his pink feet out in the cold
and his flip flops slapped against
the boards each step

I named him Li’l Toes
and blinked him a quiet goodnight peck
and wished him sweet dreams
wherever he lays his head
before I lost him in the crowd

poetry

Makgadikgadi Pans Bedtime Story

Makgadikgadi Pans Bedtime Story

we lay ourselves down
on a flat white board
under an amber smile of newish moon
and saltspray of star and spiral arm
far from the reach of everything
breathing in the last breath
of expired ocean
letting the cations
melt negativity away
becoming a simple body
sleeping sound
back hugging ancient earth
under a baobab’s silent steady watch
good night

poetry

the tall bed

the tall bed

it feels like coming aboard
stepping up on the high wooden box
then hoisting myself onto
this queen-sized raft of dream
with extra-long pillows
and billowing duvet

a good 4 feet off the floor
we set sail
into the short dark of summer
perforated by starshine
while Homestake’s white wave
curls in the distance

later
rosy mountain sunrise snow
gently announces
it’s another day now
time to disembark
and make those hazy dreams real