Island Muse…

Fragmented thoughts
Swirling lazily through the dim lens of memory
And the awareness of now
I meld with the water
Stroke after stroke
Dancing with wavelets
Nuzzled by the exploring riffles of wind

Miles from the fiery breath of dawn
Suspended between the deep blue ether
And the shimmering sea haze
I sight sea birds reeling
Seals barking
Within my probing muse

I spot an egret
With punked out crown of snowy feathers
Perched like Icabod
Knobby knees sprung in disarray
An indifferent preen
Belying the concentration on the beast
Perturbing it's bath

A silhouette against the bluff
A heron rides the tumbling air
Like a prehistoric beast
Arcing out of the sky
Great gawpy legs unfold
And wings nonchalantly stall the air
To silently land
Amidst the riotous squallor of gulls
Loitering seals
And hissing cormorants

My craft slides forward
Past wave racked cliffs
Gamboling birds
And the eerie bray of the rookery din
Languid swells tousle the kelp
And caress the islet's outer reef
A relentless, passionate dance
Kindling life
Where once was stone and dust

I push though your outstretched arms
Streaming fronds
Scuffle my hull
And tease my rudder
A Sirens call
Unanswered
As I move on my way

Softly murmuring your raggedy breath
You retreat to the past
A comforting ripple
Of fragmenting thoughts
Swirling lazily through the dim lens of memory
And the awareness of now

Unabashedly updated 2/23/20 Blair Frater