Fall 2025 - Vol. 22, Issue 4

Travellers chase busses,

suitcases rattling along stony streets

The sun is half lit like a dying candle.

The sky blushes as you arrive,

Rosy cheeked clouds climb to stiff peaks,

Palm trees sway like dizzy drunks.

Along the mountains, roads swerve and sink

Like swans riding the currents.

White roofs look like stars in the distance.

That night, a woman, face obscured

and illuminated in starlight

Pirouettes like a flailing fawn.

Upstage, a man with arms like eagle wings,

Waves to the adoring crowd. Feet stamping,

Hands clapping, bass creating a stampede.

Drunks wander with hot breath,

Children place their palms through water

as if it ripples and runs just for them.

The harbour is quiet, tourists check maps

amidst the sea-foam on the breeze.

Cats patter on sure paws down thin paths.

Ships pass like familiar friends

Touching hulls. Flying gulls

Circle the mauve marina.

Sea breath on your outstretched tongue.

Flakes of sand scatter like snowfall.

The tide reaches the tips of your toes.

You let it take your worries, drown them

In the seabed. Somehow, the ocean gives you

A peace like you have never known.

With memories in your carry on,

You steal a star as a souvenir,

And let it burn until you return.