Island Man.

Island Man (for a Caribbean island man in London who still wakes up to the sound of the sea)

by Grace Nichols

.

Morning

and island man wakes up

to the sound of blue surf  

in his head

the steady breaking and wombing

wild seabirds

and fishermen pushing out to sea

the sun surfacing defiantly

from the east

of his small emerald island

.

He always comes back

groggily groggily

comes back to sands

of a grey metallic soar

to a surge of wheels

to dull North Circular roar

muffling muffling

his crumpled pillow waves

island man heaves himselfday

another London

I would like to wake up on the sandy beaches of barbados with oange juice in a coconut in my hand.