Apathy

Gauguin - Tahitian Landscape


That day, long-winded hands

appeared to reach in by the window

and molest the lanterns.

Even the shadows on the wall

were visibly perturbed

(oh how they shook

from side to side).

I wandered to my window

and noticed in the distance -

rows of houses swaying in silence.

Another day

the trees were struck by tropical fever

and the leaves sedulously dropped.

Hand in hand

(like quintessential commies)

they circled and drifted into the sky.

A storm had gathered among us -

a swelling congregation of whispers

carried me as I lay prostrate

ever anchored to centre.

Then one day the storm quelled.

A searchlight scanned the riverside,

Debris had rolled into a doddering sand.