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 tha

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