Finding commune in the arms of strangers,

Now that yours are tuberoses falling

On God’s beguiling face.

As your reflection glides,

Tincture of Opium, my abiding friend,

Offers intimate visions from the cradle.

Old continent beyond Fort Jesus

Shipwrecked where the floating tamarisks

Meet the ocean’s amethyst nymphs,

Your beauty,

Still as wet leaves on her face.

 

© Clifton Gachagua 2011