Night Sea Gulls over the Bow [The Galapagos/Dedicated to Cody, lover of animals]

The ship-danced alongside the sea-gulls, so

Proud they were, they could keep up—;

Not far away, an Island of sea lions, awaited

… (On top of land, and under the sea). At day break, they followed us with intently.

At night, darkness fell upon our ship, gulls

And all; sailing from island to island Density prevailed: complete beauties befell.

Love: that, which we give, by looking back:

Above and straight ahead, we weaved This dark and strange beauty, into our heads…!

#1119 1/29/06

Parting

And how does one accept the end

To yield a life with reason, To go with the flow of things

Even, if only, for a season. Can one call this: death with grace? To let his heart, part with fate. To let go slowly, of everything!

#1140 2/1/2006

Blistering in Haiti

There was no well to fetch water

And so we got it from the creek With pail, and tin-can, in hand

We caught the water as it ran…

and humped that water back, slowly

Five gallons in each pail and can Drained it for the cement, and shower

We were building a clinic in the mountains. And boiled some to drink later on;

In the hot-blistering sun, of Haiti….

Note: In l986, the author flew into Haiti, drove by jeep-truck into the mountains of Haiti with 19-others to build the walls of a clinic for the inhabitants of a village (medical clinic); a first group had come in (before them) and set a cement foundation floor; the doctor had refused to return until the clinic was finished. Thus, he was there two weeks, and had built its basic wall foundation, and a third group followed after he left and finish the job by doing the roof.#1139 1/31/06