Coastal Village
15 December 2020
JIMMY AWAGL
The calm breeze from the sea waves
Moves peacefully to the shore
Unsettles the tender palm leaves
Offers a sense of calmness, like
the grass-skirts of Papuan girls
The aroma of this gentle breeze
Moves sweetly across the lonely beach
As the soft sand squishes beneath my feet
Creating gentle puffs of crystal dust
Gathered by the breeze and taken where
High-post houses with thatched roofs
Kids play beneath them soundlessly
Play too around the sandy beach
Among drifted logs on the shore
And ragged nets long cast aside
Canoes and dinghies tangle together
Among those logs upon the shore
Bounce slightly on the gentle waves
Wink at me in the sun’s last flame
And kiss the waves to form a rainbow
Frizzy-haired mothers walk across the sand
Looking, as if to sight canoes, or land
The children pause, as if in capture
A day’s moment is awaited now
The fishing fathers return with catch
The sea inspires our tranquility
While offering its bounty, free
to the villagers who respect the gift
and know that life along the sea
is something special, something complete
The desire that took me to see the lifestyle of coastal villages in Central Province also provoked me to script this piece and more will be scribed soon. So much gratitude, Lindsay, for your thoughtful remarks.
Posted by: Jimmy Awagl | 16 December 2020 at 07:56 PM
Jimmy, your words construct contentedness composed on calmness. Decidedly different from several days of slog on the beaches of south-east Queensland.
Yet this is to ask a question. It's about use of 'the', as 'definite article'. My guess is such a creature of conversation was not in traditional PNG spik.
So with topic wafting, what value is 'the' definite?
Change no particle of your poem. My point puffs nought.
Posted by: Lindsay F Bond | 15 December 2020 at 06:49 AM