“There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect’s wings.” Chief Seattle’s Speech – The Earth is Precious Chief Seattle’s speech hangs on the wall at the pearl farm. I first read it years ago and cried myself …
THE FLAT AND THE MELLOW
I can’t sleep. This light keeps turning on. It’s right above my head. Literally and figuratively. And last night I dreamt that someone put an armadillo in my hair. It wove it’s hard body into my strands and secrets started rising and I couldn’t get it out without getting bit. I woke up in a …
FISH & FIREWORKS & FLORESCENCE
Being here, in Ahe, is like being beneath an umbrella in a world without shade. New Years Eve is a splash. It‘s fish and fireworks and a dance floor full of florescence. Everything is decorated in palm fronds, and the moon wears her silver halo. A boat of nine is here. Together we make 17; …
CALL ME CYCLOPES
Now the moons flower is full. It’s light sinks down from the sky and stirs the lagoon into a field of yellow sparkles that leave me spellbound. Open-mouthed bliss, eyes swimming. Or rather my one good eye is swimming. The other is pink and puffy and swollen half-way shut. It’s a donut. PINK EYE...maybe? Who …
CHRISTMAS IN AHE
We left Tikehau the morning of Christmas Eve. The wind was coming from the northeast, so we rounded the north side of the island and shot over from there. Sailing towards Ahe like an arrow, not like a long and lost lightning bolt, as I had sailed two weeks before with Juniper. Sailing on Bad …
THE SWELL, THE SUN, THE SWARM
I didn’t mind sailing to Tikehau a second time. I enjoy it there; the swell, the sun, the swarm. The surf was on its way up and so were the holiday spirits. As soon as the anchor drops, I swim to shore. A woman in the fishing village feeds me hot homemade coconut bread, and …
I AM A BOOMERANG
I am a boomerang inside of a wormhole. My indecisiveness has led me to begin again on a journey from which I just came. Even though I am turning in a circle, it somehow feels as though there is a fluid forward motion to it all. This I can’t fully explain. Here is what happened. …
A PEARL IS A PRETTY THING
We have laughed about being lost on the lagoon every day since. It became a joke that grew wings and flew from every lip and oyster on the farm. The farm sits stilted above the water. A wooden planked bridge connects it to the two motus belonging to the farm. I walk across it. It …
LOST IN THE LAGOON ON A MOONLESS NIGHT
I have never seen underwater realms as alive as I have seen here in Ahe. It’s like swimming in outer space. From the fish, to the coral, to the oysters. I saw three sharks in water that wouldn’t go past your ankles. That’s how lush even the shallows are. Brianna and I spent our first …
ILLUMINATED
I’m in a zone beyond all zones. I don’t know how my body is still moving or how the light bulb in my brain hasn’t burnt out. I have slept little... four hours in 48 hours. I am writing to you now at 10 pm and I’ve been up since 2 am. At this moment …
