I NEVER LEFT...

 

I never left my wave-worn town

near a Caribbean din of seagulls gannets

and ghost-ships on the horizon.

I never left the azurest blue ever descried

 like that serene blue of Novalis flower.

I never left and still watch from a wooden pier

the sun up and down

like a sudden daffodil in bloom

yellowing clouds lighthouses reveries

even the rotten smell of dead cats

floating in the shimmering slick.

I never left the scent of fallen mangos

dreaming of dewdrops

the tender glance of mongrels

sulking along the shores

or lapping up pools of rain.

I never left that full moon dancing

over the sea over the white oleanders

to the rhythm of African drums.

The first kiss as sour as tamarind juice.

The first love as brief as the moth flight

I never left my wave-hugged town

nestled in the doldrums of a Caribbean island

where a sea goddess, a stella maris

(the bluest ever descried)

still blows me a gentle kiss.