The Nightlife by Elise Paschen

Author:Elise Paschen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Hen Press
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

SECOND SIGHT

Green Beach, former Navy land, Vieques

Slick shale beneath our fins,

we back into the ocean,

and sink, witnessing how,

through masks, seascapes, which from

above appear as splotches—

seaweed green, moon-bleached sand—

sharpen into quick focus

(as if an ophthalmologist

had clicked a lens in place),

and we beat above the brain

coral lined up like cannonballs

where camouflaged battalions

of smallmouth grunt scatter,

then spot an ancient hawksbill

sea turtle who waves flippers

toward air, a submarine

resurfacing. The colonies

of longspine urchins seem

close up like tiny bunkers

hunkered down, poised to strike.

We peer into crevices

under the ledges, see

a handful of sergeant majors

disappear into caves.

Floating into the safety

of the shore, we shed masks

and fins. Along the beach’s

south edge a sign with skull

and bones: No Trespassing:

Explosives Under Sand.

We weigh each step on shore.

These lines transform from pinpricks

to landmines, unpredictable,

triggered to explode.

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