the air is thick
rushing from cloud
to sun
from lagoon to islet

you with the blue in your eyes
the anemones in your smile

the asteroids sang in the heavens
as the southern cross undertook its journey

I sing with a heart full of mussels
Coral underfoot
oozing life in its wetness of
breath
in and out
water and air

you sweep by me
in a caress of island night
red as the sun setting westward

star jasmine behind your ear
you smiled climbing
to the steep top
banana leaves surrounding us

alone in the jungle
the fly catcher our companion
me and you together
the arc of time before us
never forlorn
no matter how

soon the rain will come

we ate seared tuna by the water’s edge
and stroked the lean cat—white and brown
she purred and knew you were her true friend and ally

coconuts lie in the water
washed ashore on the white strand
of beach
where only my blue toenails look pure
against the slight sand

you call to me in the velvet night
the ripple of my skin
your breath on my neck

in the entrance, yellow hibiscus
the aroma sweet
of body and salt
hands clasping
above and beyond
the wind
the palm fronds and the rooster gone mad
crowing at all times of day
and even night

us together
day and night
a knot of twine
tied between your
umbilical cord and mine

in the tears a truth
beyond union
a smile fragmentary
and crisp like a star
with a ring between
twinkling rainbow

teeth white
freckles glowing
you said darling
I whispered
In silent acquiescence
Breathing you in

together we become anew
a beginning with no end
a tie that echoes circle
a song that reminisces
of the sea where I lie
beneath the waves
washed into the shore
of my devotion
into the echo of a seashell
where you said
the sea began and also ended