Sestina on a former Vietnamese boat person at a Swan River launching ramp
Knee-deep in water by the side of the boat
In ragged shorts and cap he stands in the sun
With the wide river in front of him, under a sky
Speckled with light clouds in feathers and bars
As ducks paddle past. Along the still water
And river bank are dogs and playing children.
A scrap of cloth covered the children
Huddled in the bottom of the leaking boat
With rotting flesh washimg in the rising bilge-water,
Fish, human, smashed under the hammer of the sun,
Steering after life past dark harbour-bars,
Steering by a school atlas and a strange sky.
There is a Vee of cormorants across the sky
A pair of brilliant parrots in a palm-tree for the children,
Martins rise and dart about above the jetty’s bars
Of shadow on the river. He guides the boat
Carefully to the trailer. His glasses catch the sun
Flashing up from clear green shallow water
Fish dart silver at the edge of the water
Nearby kites are rising in the late morning sky –
Dragons, birds, flying octopi against the sun.
He pauses and turns to watch the children
Running past the cars to the kites, then pushes the boat
Carefully, watching the plastic, onto the trailer bars
Searchlights stabbing in white bars
Of death across the flat black water
The drumming engine of the patrol boat,
Stilling the blood under the lightning-hot night sky,
Waiting for bullets, gagging thre children,
Heading seaward, dreading the sun.
Standing in the foredeck, waving in the sun
A skeleton propped up with capstan-bars
Somebody holding up the surviving children
As he hears below the rat-tongued rush of water
Rising still higher among rotten boards and the sky
Begins to revolve as a ship bears down on the boat.
The kites dip in the sun. Above the water
The yacht-clubs bars beckon. He turns rom the sky
Calls the children and ties up the boat.
(Explanation if necessary: The refugee who escaped from Vietnam at the risk of his life in a leakiong boat has settled in Australia and become a yachtsman, with a boat on a trailer at the river, and a member of a yacht-clu
A contest entry
- "Human rights - and wrongs" by Vera Rich.
700 points, ended December 19, 2008, 21 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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A really well executed sestina, it reads with good flow and the language is simple enough so that the stark images have great impact.
Congratulations on the well-deserved trophy, and a very moving poem.
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Sestinas are way beyond my ability, but these are absolutely 'right' in reflecting the movement of the boats - past and present. As always your descriptions of birds bring beauty even to the ugliness of life. Thank you for this fine poem
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This is a powerful and moving poem. It is great to see this type of poem, I mean a sestina. You obviously worked hard at this but it nevertheless reads quite spontaneously. If only there were more people who laboured over particular forms to create works, certain forms themselves can help or force the writer to focus. I am not against free verse but, and to quote Auden,
* The poet who writes "free" verse is like Robinson Crusoe on his desert island: he must do all his cooking, laundry and darning for himself.
This poem was a pleasure to read and think about.
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A wonderful poem with a very interesting story to tell. So many have sacrificed to find a better life for their families just as the early settlers in our counrty. It continues today, refugees all over the world searching for a better life. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt story this holiday season. Puts things in perspective and reminds us what is really important.
You take care, Sandy
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A very interesting and readable poem. The imagery is very strong . There are a few typing errors and it might repay another read to sort these out. Still, I'm quite a one for typing errors myself, as I still have a two fingered approach to the keyboard. Overall, this makes a strong visual impact on the imagination, and I think it stands well on its own, without any pictures or complicated explanation. A pleasure to read.
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