Open 365 Days

With a cough of steam
it seems to come
almost on time
 
from its under-
ground chamber
smelling of sulphur,

a sudden eruption
from souterrain
onto the scene,

a nebulous feather
of hot white water
and steam under pressure,

both genie and ghost,
a hothouse growth
of miraculous birth

for less than a minute
splashes the intimate
flesh of the planet

until it relapses
onto the plateaux
of its own applause.

On bamboo and grass
hot droplets glitter
like dew or stars.