Last night I lay captured
in the body of a Tahitian ice princess
Midnight ink etched in woven patterns
over her salted terracotta skin
jagged crown of petals and thorn
wearing a necklace of icicles as sharp as teeth
Heart wide open
Drifting back to sleep under the mosquito net
in a four post bed
I count the shadows cast over flax-woven roof
and dream of you
In my dream
I step outside onto diamond black sand
and wade into the sea, fully dressed
skirt floating over scorched seaweed
and moonlight water black with ice
I’m hoping to capture your attention
so cast a net of words
tangled in a string of black pearls
wide and deep
across the ocean tide
I reel you in and leave the beach
hoping you’ll follow
I enter a church the colour of peaches
Windows framed with blue cacao
and burnt mango paint
over peeling grey concrete
And there she spins
her velvet cloak lined with sea-diamonds
and crystal-lace trim
I pray to Jesus
just because he happens to be there
I don’t think he’s listening
Further away on the grass
You watch from the side of the road
In the dark of the night
I’m lying down
squinting up at those fucking coconuts
“Bring it, coconut!”
I’ll get knocked out
I stand, wrap myself in the cloak, adorn the pearls
and leave
You follow
My ice princess melts
tilted and dripping with ink
pushed deep into the black sand
shrinking into dark blue puddles
I lie flat on the shells
holding your hand
Waves break into black icicle sticks
piercing my eyes
now streaming with tears of midnight ink
blue salt crystals dissolve on my tongue
fresh with the taste of new possibilities