Orkney Drift. Poem by Geoffrey Fafard

Tonight I safely sit here
Far away from the salty birds
Of the cold and stony rising tide
Of Stromness
Here where I am
In a place of humid rampant quiet
With concert insects
Singing to the tropics
On the wet outside
And this machine making my words
On the dry inside
Its just me and the quiet voice
Of George Mackay Brown
Telling me of
Hamnavoe
Orkney life
His time
Now gone
Like the high tide
LikeThe Old Women
Like the Lady Of The Waves
Like him
Old poetry
Hypnotic
Allowing me
to be alone with
The Orkneys
With the awe and beauty
Of Hamnavoe
And with the genius of
George Mackay Brown
Telling me personally
Of his life
I am going to listen for a while.


Geoffrey.14th day of March 2014 Just north of Cairns Qld Oz.
In the damp hot monsoon night.