Seal Rocks Brotherhood

Dolphins cruising just off the beach break while
we watch enthralled – surf dumping short of a
sand wall uniting extremes – long impressions
of contemplative harmony. Back from the beach

men sleep through hangovers of nights rigorous
celebration – with more to come – snores ring
through flimsy tent walls spiced with idle farts of
reluctant awakening. Brothers in arms embracing

the tall tales, the memories, the stories yet to be
told. Here in a pristine seascape we take a break
from sentinel duties and see a brother through
the last days of his singleness. We’ve shaken the

hand of tradition – we’ve remade him a man. In
a distance hazed without concrete or angularity
I hear your soft snore through the walls, feel the
resonance of your womb-like wisdom, agree it is

time to make peace. The shore break intercedes,
a crash of waves with dolphins shadowed in the
crystal green dart through my thoughts, echoing
cleanness of a complete and eternal inevitability.
© 11 December 2007, I. D. Carswell