Hip of an Archipelago
for Cornelius Eady
Diamond Beach
We sailed the dhow
close to shore, the waves
slapping gently
*
One thousand dragonflies
hovered above,
raining wings on the bow
*
Above them,
planets, in their orbs,
sailed, then fell still
Shela Beach
Maddie said she’d seen
a camel somewhere
beyond the dunes
*
Beyond the dunes,
somewhere, I drank
Compari & soda
*
beside the blue
of the incomparable
Indian Ocean
*
Matondoni
The children
roast cashews
in an oval pit
*
When they see us,
the children cry
jambo, jambo
*
Jambo cries a sooty
gull, jambo yawns
the mat-maker’s cat—
Photo header, "Archipelago" by Dmitry Teslya