No Man's Island
Mountain blue Islands in a shimmer of
sea
lush slopes shining emerald green in the
sun
slow curls of wave wash the rocky shore
and over the bay
riding updrafts of seabreeze
in lazy spirals
eagles soar
Gnarly arbutus and wind twisted oak
cling to a craggy
brink of cliff
where I walk a thin path along meadowy
bluffs
breathing antique airs
through a bamboo flute
Mule deer twitch big curious ears
at the Chinese weirdness of my tune
The rhythms of the slow sea keep time
as the wild grass whispers a quiet drone
At the edge of
the meadow
a tight new barbed
wire fence
marks an imaginary
border
PRIVATE PROPERTY
- KEEP OUT
Deep in the fern green primeval forest
a newly cedar sided cabin
summer home for
some private citizen
for a few summer weeks and the odd long
weekend
Not a sign now
that anyone lives here at all
I could break the lock and light a fire
this time of the season
only the crows would know
Here private property is an illusion
on this Island where the rainforest grows
wild
where century old fir trees twine deep
roots
only trespassers post NO TRESPASSING signs
© 2006 Gary Lee