Isle of Wight
or Isle of Man
for D.E.W.

i.
am I, are we
deserving of happiness

it’s all theft, isn’t it
stolen joy
when we’re happy

snatched from the air
the whirl
the sky above

or do we wait
to be lifted up

do we tarry, praying
in our upper rooms
for tongues of fire

the world on fire ever since
love, like tiger
burning bright

ii.
I hear rushing afar off
what group is it
already practicing, it’s February

what wonderments
we’ve inherited
from how far away
from how long ago

iii.
want to be international too
instead of stuck on a rock

like conch to bruise
or fish to club to death

fished from the sea
and flapping still

iv.
friends have wings
minds like Plexiglas

Formica of my mind
to cover cabinet tops
vanity tops

job to do, role to play
poems to ply all over the place

poems of mine
all over the world
don't leave me behind
take me along

v.
best friend leaving town
his absence
my birthday present

he’s going
I’m blowing out candles

what of cake
I thought he liked
learned to bake in London

returned to Nassau
a new recipe


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2008
11:05 p.m. 07.02.08