The Center of the Ocean

About a equatorial paradise, at first and second glance.

This place that one can only reach in a boat

Sailing on nimbus clouds

This land that can only be found on a moonless night,

During an eclipse.

The beach is a dance of black and white sand

That motionlessly blends with itself, like marble about to melt.

There are gravestones here, but they bear no names

They depict the faces of the men they eulogize.

Dogs run here, in between monuments built up 

From the sand at random, not facing any star in particular,

Not revealing some prophecy, just standing.

On the beach.

At dawn, the water is so temperate and clear, 

It is often hard to tell when one's feet first are brushed

By the tide.

The clouds appear close and far away at once,

Like diamond-dust kicked up by the footsteps of a restless god.

There is one real building, a lighthouse

That was abandoned when the first outsiders 

Realized that they would always be alone.

There are broken eyeglasses on the rusted balcony,

And inside, a letter from a child.

The forest smells of incense and dry coral, 

And there is a mountain in it's center.

It's peak houses more graves.

There are the writings 

Of the first people to discover the written word.

The writing is not primitive, or artistic like hieroglyphics,

Or Chinese characters.

It's appearance is reminiscent of musical staves.

The graves here are carved jade, and the expressions on the faces

Discontinue their forced smiles when one looks away.

But maybe it's just a trick of the light.

The first man to be angry with nature lived and died here,

And the first scream to the heavens rang from these onyx deserts

And gold-flecked hillsides, echoing over canyons hewn by tears

And choked by dams of bone.

This is the Birthplace of the Storm, 

Where heaven sorrowfully established for the first time,

That it could scream back

Reviews

[Ruth]

This is amazing metaphor! I needed to breath after this! Such striking imagery:)
I think and I say this with sincerity...this is one of the best poems I have read in a while!
xx

[Larry Dyson]

A most excellent write ..I love the descriptions in the metaphors..I especially like this part for its descriptiveness"The forest smells of incense and dry coral,

And there is a mountain in it's center.

It's peak houses more graves, and writings

Of the first people to discover the written word.

The writing is not primitive, or artistic like hieroglyphics,

Or Chinese characters.




It's appearance is reminiscent of musical staves."

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

I especially love the last stanza...........This is the Birthplace of the Storm,
Where heaven sorrowfully established for the first time,
That it could scream back