More poetry from Malta
_______
Roderick Mallia
Vittoriosa Waterfront
nothing remains of that night
we took everything back with us
except for a memory we left behind,
tumbling on the waves,
like an empty beer can,
that fills up
and plunges,
and every now and then,
surfaces again
grandmother
just close your eyes
and rest a while
and like a drowsy boat
she sailed out on the turquoise waves
of an ECG screen,
slowly drifting far
no more to be seen
between skies and seas
you drifted past the door
like a wary boat in a desolate port,
on your dark skin, the scent of sea,
of lands washed by the sun
and salty spray
between the dark waves of your dress
you gather the gazes and throw them
away, all at once
like tiny pebbles dabbling
the sea surface
there was nothing much to say
but I realised how a sailor feels
when he’s wandered too far out
between skies and seas
between shore and shore
(a photograph)
nobody was in sight that night
amid shore and shore,
except for two shadows
blending deep,
and playing in the moonlight
among boats asleep
clandestine
I furtively stowed my dreams on a boat,
and let them out on the waves at sea
someplace where they shouldn’t be
