Not Irma-la-Douce

It depends, of course, what you believe
Dame Nature has tricks up her sleeve
Tsunamis, high winds, heavy rains...
In the Caribbean - havoc reigns.

Paradise islands in the sun
With golden beaches every one ..
Then Irma, one bad hurricane
And life hangs by a thread – again...

From deepest blue to skies of grey
Torrential rain - not gentle spray
Lives are dashed and dreams destroyed
Insurance policies are void!

Dependent on the tourist trade
The glossy brochures quickly fade
When lashed with wrath from Nepture's fork
Bright blossoms ripped down to their stalk...

We think, poor souls, we've got it sussed
But Nature's last laugh is on us;
Hi-tech is fine in its own way
But Mother Nature still holds sway...

(c) Poet in the woods 2017

*Cheeky Title taken from 1963 film starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine

The Pirate

He scanned the soft waves while aloft
The rigging creaked in pigeon croft
Beyond the ship a peerless blue
Becalmed, the Pirate and his crew.

Telescope to his eye, he spied
A tiny speck on ocean wide
An island beckoned, out of reach
A haze of palm trees, sandy beach.

The thought of water fresh and sweet
Of ripened fruits to pick and eat
Filled his mind; his hands gripped taut
As the winds picked up and caught

The flapping sails which swelled with pride
The lull gave way to choppy ride.
Land ahoy through splashing waves
Around them – many shallow graves...

Rough necked, sun-burnt, sharp yet gaunt
Girded with cutlasses to taunt
Any natives who might come their way,
They stepped ashore - bejewelled with spray!

(c) Poet in the woods 2015