In waiting rooms,
Breathing the stink
Of latex gloves
And rubbing alcohol,
Waiting for nurses to call.
I was the changer of tides,
The boy throwing stones
Into the sea
To send surf raging
Toward distant shores.
Now I clean pools
In Trump Tower shadows,
Imagining a lost daughter
Spreading blankets
Over my grave.
Author Bio:
Kirby Wright was a Visiting Fellow at the 2009 International Writers Conference in Hong Kong, where he represented the Pacific Rim region of Hawaii and lectured in China with Pulitzer winner Gary Snyder. He was also a Visiting Writer at the 2010 Martha’s Vineyard Residency in Edgartown, Mass., and the 2011 Artist in Residence at Milkwood International, Czech Republic. He is the author of the companion novels PUNAHOU BLUES and MOLOKA’I NUI AHINA, both set in the islands. His futuristic novel will be released in 2013 in Dublin, Ireland.