
islands.
who lives on the islands in winter?
the sea no longer sparkles;
tempestuous winds garotting
cliffs and coves
tavernas shuttered against the cold
faded signs for beer
no longer charming
in the absence of everything.
who lives on the islands in winter?
corfu and capri, sardinia, majorca
certainly the cats, without wings
or limbs lengthy enough to escape
unadorned by voluminous flowers
-judas tree and garden pea-
terracotta angels are ghosts
limestone villas stoic against the spirits.
who lives on the islands in winter?
long careers built on long days
that now hasten into night, not fading
slowly like butter melting.
not our friendship, drawn together
by blistering pebbles and briny ocean
sunburned smiles give way to cool indifference
a decade is undone in a season
paradise in retrograde
we are an island on which neither of us live
stranded, marooned,
just like the cats.
