“Hibiscus Lane, St. Lucia,” watercolor, January 2000.
St. Lucia Landing
All night the sea rolling its dough—
Near imperceptible thrust squeezing
A white curl from the end of its flat blue.
Moon’s going to three-quarter, the stars sparse
As clouds push through the Lesser Antilles.
Fragment of one constellation—jagged line
Of light like decorated trees at Papa’s Taverna.
The noontime sea will be such crystal aqua
All I’ll be able to do is look, which is enough,
Not an easy thing, to sit and look—
Even now I’m scribbling for you.
High on a volcano, cloud shadows shift.
Where the neck shot fury, cold rock ages
On jungle trails in Soufrière.
—Paul Marion (2000)