Unfinished job

The mermaid kept calling last night from stony

perch in the sea that tossed silvery waves at the

old

lighthouse; romantic graffiti carved out in stone,

by the

couples, wresting immortality from forces of erasure.

Go out in a small boat, kiss the wet winds

with

half-open lips of a lover in red-hot passion.

Feel

the westering sun, raw disc of orange, on the

bare face, hands,

and,

the thrill of the wild spray and cold, out there in

Blue Kingdom—another Santiago dreaming of

lions on African beach.

Go out, listen to the songs

the circling gulls over crashing walls of water, the

sea during high-tides,

(in low tides, see the coves on the damp floor)

watch

the terror and beauty of the tempest, with Turner

around the corner; proceed to preserve these moods,

feelings,

in words,

for those long and dim nights,

when

everything will soon get blurred

and

the music will fade into

dark breathless oblivion.

Sunil Sharma
Picture Nick Victor

Bio:

Sunil Sharma, PhD (English), is an academic, critic, literary editor and author with 29 published books: solo and joint.