Soundings

Walking on hard wet sand

By the gentlest tide

Still and quiet except


For some guy hitting an oil drum with a spanner

The he haw saw of the mynah birds

The furnace roar of the flight path

The slap of the cormorants wing on water

The shrill soundings of children

The doppler chop of a helicopter.



The harbour the sound of an elegant lady bathing



The hollow hammer of the engine in the belly of a fishing boat

The cries of success and failure from the fishermen on the wharf


Silent splash of a plunging seabird

The proud silence of the Totora trees.