Poetry:
Leopold, Nikia
Nikia Leopold Escarpment from Water Here the land-scent sweetens salt With waves of Beachplums and succulents. From the lapping water A dazzle of seagrape Leaves and sun On the ridge. The reef...
...In alcoves urchins meditate Upon the blackness Of their spikes...
...Its porous surface A wilderness for hermits Bearing borrowed shells...
...Ceaseless catechism has made The rock eccentric...
...Behind the bubbles, raw orange, aquaAlgae, refreshed By the tidal question...
...The reef becomes A face of mouths Urged in tufa By insistent whispers of the sea...
...I face a niche Breathe With waves and beachplums Bob in the glitter Of salt and seagrapes Tread water As long as I can...
...The waves rise, and in recession All the rock mouths Iridescent echoes...
Vol. 117 • March 1990 • No. 6
