Upon the shiftless sinking
Upon the shiftless sinking
a slithering, slimy recluse —
unbathed, unwatered, bracken,
reeds bobbing, antennae
on many footed nightmares
linger, drawing deep distress
to absolution, a shivering shack
harboring handsome quiverers
locked and knocked and loosed
advancing Maldon forests
breeding shadows like tse-tses
hovering over savannanine carcasses,
jackal pierced, the veld a mocking
wrinkled landscape of fortifications
linked by jagged Berber shipwrecks
docile reminders of misplaced dogmas
footprints along uncertain paths
there dodging, there a deep impression
revealing the staggering indelments
of acrobatic fencers.