Near our river banks crab legs stay tucked, knowing
at any moment meat cravings could erupt | catchers
take nice back naps in hammocks, not worried
about the sneaky caiman snap dash . hunt for bone
authentication.
Meantime new platforms tying birth to ends off
load crane claws . that tear down old aqueducts
known to standpipe wives | the plug squirt leave
dome pots for emptying they spare.
No excuse to idle . fear nightmares might
regroup the days we last felt taken – sun controls
lip limits Omigod! washing no name fabric
brands again | that Where are we? faux readiness.
+
Cream cheese on toast, chew^savour . How? essential
these up front steps from flood ‘n’ vermin | get away
with shade slits . blood droplets in the air.
Still all too sub sub ? like on plantation nights; our
House crapauds grin ~ Go! road build panorama,
trade deals on display ~ Qatari camel humps
fat bouncing Aie aie aie.
Soon helicopter blades will swish Piss off!
time to show our island moves . mean business;
like rain making . on planet Mars like . seed
crystal pumps in motion | for souls at sea
haven holds 3-2-1 gasp lasting.
– W.W.
ORSON'S OASIS
Is that my own words surprise me evidence
of Recognition’s ubiquity,
or of a ‘comprehensive understanding’
beneath a patent stupidity
that knows no star of speech but ‘the universe
in a grain of sand’ in the desert
of a blank page which the parched crab of my hand
gropes across toward some oasis
of meaning perhaps only one more mirage
desperate but no less essential
to breath than are rainclouds to dry tongues and wells?
…………………………………………..
(from “Readiness”, by Brian Chan, 2013)
FARJOURNEY CARIBBEAN 