The eyes wander off
among coconut palms
the seen and not-seen

the way blades
of sunlight sharpen fronds
over the girl’s head

the way they scatter
light like scimitars

          -==-

Clouds steel themselves
over a heave of hills
The heat’s oppressive

beads of it haze
the scarlet needles
of an ohia

click click click
if you listen
you can hear

the purl of wind
unknitting

          -==-

Heart-shaped leaves
of the hau tree weave
an impenetrable thicket

along a back fence
wind spins off shore
spume flowers. An idea

scissors a heart
under the calm exterior
there’s a shadow

someone approaching
in camera colors, boots
The flagstone walk

measures each step
like a ruler

          -==-

Where is the girl
now? emerging like
a ghost from

a thatch of past
wading through
fountain grass

small swimmer
climbing
a sea-side cliff

to the palm tree
with its elephant
trunk, the familiar

cross that marks
a grave

          -==-

But she can never die!
unless in the negative
unless the reverse world

she is is torn or burned
She is as she always was
A storm of birds

petrels and shearwaters
circle overhead. Salt-scent
churns the wave froth

There’s something bitter
as seaweed in her
the taste the smell

the small quick fish
of the coming years
Who is she