KAKAPA BAY
As if at the near edge
of an expanse of blue chemise,
froth scallops the lava
collar bone of a rock point.
Past the slate roof line
of the house below us,
the air is all fan snap,
palms batting off wind.
Across the water, behind
a light haze, Haleakala
visible atop Maui. There,
we’re situated amid a horizon
one part of my mind rests on
while another part scans
itself for land mines
sensitive enough to detonate
even under the gingerly
tread of these bucolics.
Mulling over every word,
strip-searching sighs, I
follow the leads I let drop,
keep the assurances I make,
the bribes offered in exchange
for any promising morsel.
Crab eyes shrimp eyes string
of pearls. The water boils away.
Tea steeps. I work past dark,
husband, daughter, fast asleep.
Author’s Bio
“As Far as I Can Tell” and “Kakapa Bay” are both included in CAROL MOLDAW’s new book of poems, Beauty Refracted, forthcoming from Four Way Books in the winter of 2018. Her most recent books are So Late, So Soon: New and Selected Poems and The Widening, a short novel.