by Bill Yarrow
when I washed up
alone on the shore
of the blistered isle
I smelled the bleach of burst anemones
the sweet arousal of the Dungeness crabs
the seaweed of sour twigs and feces
I saw debutante goddesses
abashing their swains
for what hadn't come to pass
I felt the uncanny glee of the solitary palm
the dilatory curiosity of the air
the aloofness of the chimerical trees
I heard dolphins and swans,
aligned against integrity, conspire
to co-opt the sunshine and humble the thunder
I tasted hostility in the meanest weed
a cynical longevity in the beach fleas and swamp bees
a flash of happiness in the bold symmetry of the island flag
and resolved in my lately vacant heart
to replace Othello's handkerchief
to repent spurning Cleopatra the queen
and to restore the itching eyes of Gloucester
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This poem was published in E·ratio, Issue 22.
"Two Weeks in a Dristan Land" appears in THE VIG OF LOVE (Glass Lyre Press, 2016).
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Busman's holiday for the imagination. Do they still make Dristan?
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Nicely evocative 2nd stanza!
And though I can't claim to have the firmest grip on what it means, I love the bit about "dolphins and swans, aligned against integrity" conspiring to "co-opt the sunshine and humble the thunder". Which is all to say it reminds me of the time reading a certain Irish poet and being simultaneously mystified and charmed. (Which is a good thing!)
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Faving this because I read it during the entr'acte of the 1963 film version of Cleopatra.
Wow, beautiful:
"I heard dolphins and swans,
aligned against integrity, conspire
to co-opt the sunshine and humble the thunder"
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I love this. ***
Evocative marine images.
This is wonderful, Bill. Especially these lines:
"I felt the uncanny glee of the solitary palm
the dilatory curiosity of the air
the aloofness of the chimerical trees"
Great read.
This is great, Bill!
Thank you, Jerry, Matt, Ray, SDR, Lore, Charlotte, Erika, Sam, and Kitty for your great comments!
***Every word.
Thank you, Nonnie!