Whir

a rooster’s crow at midnight

the sullen near sea

the way down muddied by goats

dolphin pods survey the coral

survive passage of cruise 

ship rotors

taunt the skipper

awe the camcorders

a trail arcs toward paradise

sullied by a carpet of kukui nuts

& red, 

red like the rust undersides

of old Dodge vans,

behind, miles ago

volcano loam

frigate birds

mosquitoes perpetuate 

where the stream slows

there

in the sky

thin whir of helicopter

there

at her feet

two hundred meters

and coral

the vastness

is only out

the cliff wall 

chips her back

red

and only green

above