Poems by Mark Pirie

CITIZEN. SOLOMON ISLANDS

a citizen sits beside the sea
of his village, his haven …

to the left of him the plastic
moves in like an unwanted visitor

staying for good. the plastic
forms like debris from a lost war.

the citizen thinks he is invisible,
no identity, in his own homeland.

the sea is meant to be peaceful
as when he was a child.

his memories shrink as the sea
advances, his home now under threat.

Based on a photo by Daniel Kakadi


WINTERING

1

now I know it is winter
the trees are bare
and the temperature is colder

if I turn up the heater
the room will be summer
at the right temperature

there are “signs and signifiers”
and language read aright
reveals them to the reader

2

now I know this is a poem
because the weather is in a room
with a view leading somewhere

you know it’s becoming winter
somewhere some place in some heart
in some language in some country

follow the signs to summer also
know where know place know one’s heart
know one’s language know one’s land