the atoll

The flash and the solemn shudder

Have passed days ago

Now the silence and the scarring surround

Like a shroud, impenetrable, final

The whiteness of the landscape

The wind over the broken particles

Sings a song of sorrow so deep

Once the wild parrots sang here

We walked along beaches

unsullied by man

Life was all around the atoll

In full and lush vitality

The trees creaked in the southern breezes

The scrub stood smelling sweet

Twelve years I dwelt among these

The craggy peaks of fantastic vistas

My heart full of hope and yet longing

Now, each cliff is rubble

Each vista flat and without effect

Yet, I do not regret my stay

Yes, I would do it all again

Despite the blast that has left this debris