A series of poems inspired by small harbours and bays. Chosen for events happening. There is the tsunami, the monster coming ashore, the wartime spies landing, the warplane raised from the water, the risk of drowning and much more. Stories told in the form of poems.
People’s Bay
Tsunami
People
were swimming and diving having fun in the shallows
The
tidal wave came in at supersonic speed and hit
Rising
up like a behemoth to pound and steal the people
They
never had a chance to swim away or reach the shore
The
Thai island took a hit and everything changed
Such
a pretty quiet bay to chill out and think nothing
Enjoy
the lap of the waves and watch the strong high noon sun
There
are shoals of multi coloured fish in the shallows
And
low flying gulls that intelligently fish on the wing
You
can snorkel and spy the delicate rainbow coral
The
locals will serve you a fruit kebab and a cold beer
You
must take some photos to remember this place
A
little island with an even smaller secluded bay
Time
has no meaning here except when the wave came
Tens
of thousands died or were hurt or simply missing
A
dozen nationalities died that day many here
The
island was ruined hit by the wave no mercy
Humans
were just more flotsam and jetsam pounded
Oblivion
hit that day sea life also suffered grieved
Beached
dolphins and sharks and scoured coral
Snapped
matchstick palm trees and stranded boats
Uninjured
tourists turned rescuers saving a score
Those
who survived were lucky the day wave came
The
wave devastated countless nations and lands
A
quarter of a million died that day in 2004
Many
at a small bay on a small Thai island
Where
there was a before and after
Spies
Landing
The
little harbour by the town was a cloak and dagger place
Varied
spies were landed here by opposing sides
Each
wanted to be the master of the town and island
Sark
was smaller than the bigger islands but was as important
A
British sub came into the harbour and surfaced
It
dropped off a lady spy to seduce Nazi officers
To
get their secrets on troop numbers and orders
What
the garrison’s aims were and sow dis-information
At
the end if she survived she was to kill the commander
An
Allied war victory ending the war 6 months early
Were
the Nazi’s aware of this plan before it happened?
Would
they capture either the sub or the girl or just observe
Then
pounce and torture her for the Allied war secrets
It
was different when German U-boats surfaced here
They
always went closer to the shore and were quicker
Dropping
off their agents and diving in less than a minute
The
Nazi spies would infiltrate the Resistance movement
Finding
the key members and liquidating them and their line
Often
they placed a stool pigeon to inform and pass on lies
This
was the way it went in the Channel Islands in the war
Guernsey
and Jersey overshadowed the smaller island
Its
little sheltered bay was perfect for spy drops
Decades
later few know the secret of cat and mouse
And
the cloak and dagger war that went on here
Monster’s
Come Ashore
It
swayed from side to side and roared like a Devil
A
monster came ashore from the deeper water
The
inhabitants of the American port ran away
Trying
to get away to live another day
In-between
roars the monster laughed like a hyena
It
was sky blue in colour and thirty feet long
Half
slithering and half walking on three legs
A
bizarre animal risen up from the deep
From
where no sunlight shines or human goes
Yet
it fancied human flesh so ventured forth
A
very hungry gruesome form of snapdragon
Older
than the dinosaurs and twice as mean
T-Rex
had nothing on this monster in looks
Or
speed for this thing killed and ate on the fly
Snatching
random people and liquefying them
His
mouth was his belly and his eating tool
Sailors
and fishermen were caught and eaten
A
cop tried to shoot the creature but failed
His
bullets bounced off and he was taken alive
All
those under its grasp were hideously killed
The
harbour town was soon a ghost town
The
surreal monster from the water owned the bay
The
new master of the world was here to stay
It
wouldn’t stop till all were dead and consumed
Hidden
Loot
The
Philippine bay was home to a family of fishermen
One
was diving down to retrieve his lead weights
He
dropped them when fixing his nets and had to get them
He
found more than lead while down there
There
was a box of gold bars winking at him
Sat
there on the seabed in an open ammo box
Had
Yamashita and the OSS left it here?
Dozens
of metres down on the bottom
A
real treasure beyond dispute over there
Just
like Simoun’s discarded jewel case
Which
is worth the most the gold or his jewels?
Both
are one offs and beyond cash value
Best
leave the gold here for bad men want it
And
a quite a few jealous women too
Gold
corrupts ruins lives kills maims and war
Nothing
good would come of it except what if
This
gold could correctly fix the broken economy
Paved
roads streetlights flushable toilets fresh water
Plus
a dozen other things to improve our lives
Not
the shootings robberies murders stabbings
If
this gold was brought to the surface to the world
The
fisherman is smart and retrieves his weights
He
leaves the gold to the next fool with stupid dreams
Raise
Warbird
The
old woman was on her death bed
Her
home was a small cottage up on the rocks
The
view overlooked a small bay east of Tokyo
She
told a story for the first time after 85 years
In
the water is an aeroplane at the deepest part
It
contains my sweetheart he flew over in the war
They
were up chasing the Americanos their B-sans
He
was hit and flew over to see me but crashed there
Raise
the plane and bring my love up from his watery grave
He
said he would see me before my end in this world
My
end is close now so please honour my last wish
We
were together the night before they flew off
I
know it was him the plane carried my name
I
saw it and him before he landed on the water
They
launched boats to save him but couldn’t
His
plane floated but he was gone elsewhere
He
simply wasn’t there in the cockpit or water
I
saw all this from the shoreline it’s not far
You
can swim there in minutes where he is
Please
bring up his plane and my love
I
know he’ll be still there inside his plane
A
week later we lifted up the plane
It
was in thirty metres of water in the bay
It
was the deepest part before the ocean
The
boat crane brought it to the harbour jetty
It
was carefully placed on wooden pallets
Fresh
water hoses hosed it down of salt and silt
It
was a green Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate
Nothing
was missing from the old plane
With
a bit of work it would fly again
But
it was a sacred war grave of a pilot
The
old woman slowly walked to the plane
Her
name was still visible clear as day!
She
was helped onto the barnacle full wing
We
slowly slid the canopy back on its rails
There
in the pilot’s seat was the pilot!
His
sweetheart smiled and nodded
She
reached out and patted his skull
‘I
knew you were here waiting for me’
Her
lover smiled ‘Finally we are as one’
They
clasped hands almost a prayer
The
96 year old lady gently fell forward dead
Their
huge circle was now complete
Our
job was done they were now together
The
Hayate would go to the museum
And
we would find more old planes
Swept
Away
The
little children swam in the shallow water of the bay
For
several days now and were part of the scenery
Then
a wave came and bounded off the rocks
Out
to see the kids were swept into the Baltic
For
their parents their world came to an end
The
family holiday went from being tranquil
It
was now serious wrong nightmare Oh Fuck!!!
Our
kids are dead we let them swim in the water
The
sloping sand was so inviting to the water
That
warm lovely clear salt water under the sun
Sparkles
of sun danced on the surface alive
Not
dead like our two kids Emily and Johann
Age
3 and 5 now dead in Heaven with God!
Why
oh why oh why on and on and on
As
parents we deserve to die don’t we?
We
took our eyes off the children for minutes
As
we did the other days and they were fine
Till
a wave took them away forever more
Their
little lifeless bodies on the sand
Oh
Hellfire what have we done…
Mermaid’s
Shenanigans
Look
there’s a real mermaid right there before us!
See
how she swims oh she’s waving to us
This
was no trick of the evening light
This
Peruvian town had seen nothing like this
Was
she here to stop the war?
I
got my phone and filmed the mermaid
She
was swimming and cavorting in the shallows
I
notice how pretty she is with long black hair
Her
skin looks almost green in the light
And
her mystical eyes shine from within
She
waves and beckons me to join her
What
do I do?
Other
people look at me and say no don’t go
I
hand a guy my jacket and phone and shoes
I
keep my shorts and t-shirt on and go to her
I
walk into the water and it’s warm
She
smiles and holds out a hand
I
shake it and say my name is Lopez
She’s
Tiana and a mermaid
I
nod in agreement and we swim
She
takes my hand and leads me along the shore
Many
people point and speak and film us
You
could say we are famous just now
We
stop and embrace one another
Her
kiss is like the early morning sun
The
wind blows her hair like a cloud
Oh
how I love this unreal creature!
We
swim some more and loop and dive
More
kisses and we make love off shore
How
we did this is our secret even if filmed
I
found my partner I’d been searching for
This
small secluded bay brought her to me
I
joined her in the deeper water
No
longer alone or hated
Liselle
Swims
Greek
goddess Liselle swam in the little harbour
Time
out from hiking the Cretan mountains
And
researching the war history and Knossos
Those
topics were so relevant yet so yesterday
She
needed to reconnect with her inner being
This
was the way to do it all by solo herself
She
didn’t need a companion to guide her
History
had no place on this swim
When
the wave came she was lifted
A
feather up above as below left right
No
direction just movement all ways
Even
still still still midnight dream cliché
Ended
her thoughtfulness within her head
The
law of physics objects in motion came
For
a time Liselle was almost supersonic
That
big wave moved so fast it was dizzying
She
could breathe due to the air pocked
Ground
effect science what gulls used
The
wave rose up and rapidly slowed
She
felt the deceleration passed out
Never
asleep for this was real again
Another
huge wave Thera style
When
Knossos and the Minoans were hit
Who
would get it this time?
Liselle
rode the wrecking wave
Farms
town cities Crete was swamped
A
cost was asked a debt paid
Observed
by a girl
Stolen
Water
We
were sailing in lazy circles in our boat
The
water shook from the seabed and bang!
It
happened the big push of the quake
Water
eddied and swirled and our boat spun about
Rocks
suddenly appeared out of the water
The
water raced backwards and we were on land!
This
was all so very scary I didn’t want to die just now
I
wanted us to sail all the way to Greece next week
We
were now on dry land that was really the seabed
The
water was quite distant and islands were now hills
This
was crazy and I was having none of it
I
told my friend leave the boat we’ve got to go
What
was the real beach and shore was safety
There
were two floor bars and houses there
We
ran two hundred yards to the beach
It
was surreal we passed coral and seaweed
And
even an old shipwreck from the war
This
was stupid how could this happen?
We
almost fell over when a new quake came
The
land rocked and rolled and we saw it move
A
sick side to side up and down shake
We
were staggering now while it quaked
Then
it stopped and we ran again up the beach
It
was fifty yards to the Oyster Bar
We
entered said Hi grabbed a free Efes beer
And
went to the top floor to safety from any wave
There
we saw the sea slowly enter the bay
But
it stopped way beyond our boat
We
didn’t know why till my pal pointed
The
entire ocean floor had risen up!
The
old beach was now a small hill
It
raised the seabed the water was gone!
Damn
I wanted a new beer and kebab
Then
we better retrieve our boat
Sub
Sea Ship
The
spaceship was hidden in the bay under the sloping cliffs
A
girl called Elma found it while walking up atop the cliff
There
was no path up there just wild grass and small trees
It
was obvious nobody had ever been there it was untouched
This
made it hard going for the solo hiker on her gap year
She
sat on a rock and drank some cold coffee for a rest
It
was while gazing down at the water she saw something
This
wasn’t a low seagull or sun reflection or a small boat
There
was a thing under the water shining but not a reflection
It
was under the water maybe on the bottom or floating there
It
must be a submarine researching the geology or old wreck
Here
the cliff was a hundred metres tall with no way down
The
girl was smart and studied her homemade map
And
noted a series of small ledges half a mile back
She
headed here and went down to the water level
A
little beach allowed some access along before it ended
Then
she left her pack and got changed into a diving gear
She
had a wetsuit flippers mask and air tank and camera
Then
swam round the headland to the area she overlooked
Using
her snorkel to save oxygen till she dove down
The
girl took a GPS reading on her watch and went under
The
water was deep clear and full of coloured fish
Far
below her was an object that could be a submarine
It
had no lights or propeller and didn’t move
It
was just above the sandy bottom acting like a rock
Carefully
she filmed it while swimming round it
A
dozen metres across oblong shaped with no windows
It
was an advanced sub or alien flying machine at rest
The
lady diver surveyed it and studied it for research
Just
then a door opened up and pink light glowed
Inquisitively
she swam over and entered the craft
The
door closed and the craft rose to the surface
Water
flowed off it as it silently climbed to the sky
Taking
the Russian diver girl to Goddess knew where
