An Island above the Ocean
Michael H. Brownstein
After we landed
Montserrat floated into the sky
Mountain chicken, goat water,
Black sand lines on the beach:
Look, I shouted, the volcano
Throws more smoke into the air
Coloring the trade winds grayish gray.
She answered, dust masks, oxygen masks,
Quick, buy me something to keep
The dust out of my hair.
Everywhere goats and sheep,
Lemons and lime, a great number of potatoes,
And once a week a boat rose to the occasion
From the Dominican Republic
Full of fresh fish and more fresh fish.
When the volcano erupted one night,
We went to the veranda to listen
To the march of debris.
Morning, everything covered with ash:
Look, she shouted, this stuff is everywhere.
It’s on the chairs and the floor,
In the kitchen sink.
I answered, brooms and dustpans,
Mops and water. Where are the rags?
We left a week later, our gums bleeding,
A lack of vitamin C,
A lack of calcium, a lack of
Temperament of temperature.
The Soufrière Hills Volcano on Montserrat. has been erupting since 1995. Much of the island was buried in ash, including the capital, Plymouth. Most of the population fled the island by the year 2000. In recent years, some have returned.
Poetry Atlas also has poems about other Caribbean islands like Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad.
