When Grand Was Grand

shearwaters fly overhead

fighting winds with tropicbirds

                                                         ...a shrieking calliope.

twenty-two miles of word,

anchor antilles in the gift of tongue,

warm waters, green sea turtles, blue iguanas

supported on dolomite, flora and fauna.

banana orchids speak to the ghost,

arms wrapped around seven miles

-a grand old house

                                                       ...surrounded offshore piety

dealing conche, mango, and money.

medicating spirits mesmerizing stingrays,

when grand was grand and mastics mimicked,

mahogany quipped birch teased thatch,

speak the language or leave! level

cold hell blackout at bio bay,

catching trade winds whispering a life imagined, “travel defiantly”.