Lost On Paradise Isle Poem by Violetta Simatupang

Paradise isle, surrounded by a sea-like marsh
a gliding boat was swallowing
saline and brackish water in turn
roots clasping like gigantic claws
a euphony luring on the luminous sand

Walking along its coast I was stranded in the middle
Of a lagoon of mud that sucked me
down its whirl

one of my sandals was dragged
i heard faint shouts of souvenir hawkers promising morning prices
i reached my tongue slowly for them
the guides kept on shouting
further off they sailed on dugout canoes
lost amidst the scattered sea chignons and heaven

Released from the marshy trap
i trod along an earthy path
a centipede and an iguana on a bivouac
a ray of paradise drew me
to a tourist-crowded canal bank. An artist, two, three medics
encircled me like fruit flies or my other self.

In my deep exhaustion a pair of sea-eagle eyes
brought me to a dugout canoe
drifting away unsteered
to accost the swelling of death