Tag: Pulau Malenge

poetry

learning how to wait

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learning how to wait

we Americans don’t know how to wait
like other people do:
burning long days
in the broiling tin-roofed tuck shop shack
waiting for a grubby kid
to buy a single pack of candy
comfortably squatting flat-footed
in the consulate’s courtyard for days
with only cigarettes for diversion
staking out the harbor
(any harbor anywhere)
now and then querying transport?
sitting in the Singapore doctor’s office
waiting for #1750 to appear
in red dot digits outside exam room A7

in the lands where queuing is a verb
an action one takes
an inescapable reality
they know (sometimes)
how to give themselves over
to the suspension of time
savor the need to not do
for an interminable spell

poetry

knowing what a dangerous creature wants

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knowing what a dangerous creature wants

every night
after dark
the big bees buzz to life

desperate to throw themselves at fire
they hurl themselves
at any light
until they’re spent, senseless
spinning circles on their backs
and their fat black bodies
litter the floor
a minefield of stingers

it lasts no more than one hour
bee o’clock we call it
and take precautions
tonight we passed the time
snug inside the mosquito net
when all was quiet
I put the boys to bed

reentering our bungalow
headlamp burning low
to keep Alex asleep
a late bloomer came at me
and I reacted well
launched the light from my forehead
halfway across the room
while its legs hugged the plastic tight

now safe inside the netting
I sigh
thankful it’s not my first night here
and I knew what it would want

poetry

on going separate ways

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on going separate ways

I expected strained
awkward uncertain unbalanced
tenuous
but was not prepared
for nothingness instead
not even registering
on her map of feeling
I’m sure as usual
he’s disappointed in us all

the breeze settles to a humid stall
and even the waves refuse to break
night bugs keep up their cadence
regardless what I do or don’t do
night deepens
and the days go on

poetry

Kokoro

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Owen took this photo. Kokoro is the local name for the Togian hawk-owl, which was first described in the scientific literature in 2004. We saw this little owl several times at Bahia Tomini. The staff called this individual owl Kokoro, which is also the sound this species makes.

Kokoro

little Kokoro
materializing from black sky and palm leaf
a tiny spirit
to watch over our evenings

he sits quietly
never even murmuring his name
watching us with
round golden rings of alert eyes
his blade of a beak
a still secret
in the middle of his sweet gentle face

tonight he appeared
close enough to touch
wanting to not be missed
inviting us to say hello
and when Cedar stood alone with him
and whispered a kind greeting
Kokoro cocked his little head
all attention and understanding
fully engaged in their
friendly tête-à-tête