Paul Bavister
Trumpet Flowers
The railway station vibrates with the fear
of explosions as police point cameras
at the flow of people. Sniffer dogs
are being led through an empty train.
I want to run but have to walk past
clothes tipped from a suitcase -
an old man's on all fours trying
to repack it - he's kicked flat.
The streets soak up the crowd quickly
and are soon empty. Trumpet flowers
shake golden pollen over garden walls.
Paths soften as they lead between
the brick red bark of forest trees.
Dark green leaves drip sugar sap -
army ants are breaking up banana palms.
After a day's walk the air freshens
with salty air rising from the bay -
I stand on a thin strip of rock and watch
the gulls scraping nests on the cliffs.
Back at the station police cameras
add to files of photographs softening
in humid rooms. The rusty cabinets
stain the files. Trumpet flowers
blast their pollen from the dark twists
of vines as the evening crowd soaks into
the city. The sickly pollen sends them all
to sleep. If they have nothing to worry
about then nothing will harm them.
Page(s) 10
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