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the arc bent slow in regular time.
the arc bent slow in regular time.
i groped at the groaning of her mind
like a tow -rope thru the echoes of the mouth
for the reef was black as midnight can
drink the iron ore and breathe the steam we leave.
fragile as an iron dream.
O traveler O but the hold is tired,
and the waters wicked & green!
i signed my name in seaweed
as the ark bent to the beat,
irregularly upon the bridge. & all attempts
at recovery hence, became cockney'd.
reveler O reveler !
we believe the hull is iron,
but the soul is wicker
and the water is fire!
simpler still
to fill the hole with shade enough
for the Grunts & Barracuda to bloom
fat with the war & the rum that is our alibi.
what have you done, O Pelinaoin!?!
-but the reef was black we said! down damned Bermuda
where the drum is sunk in two,
deep as hell, upon Saint David's Head and neck.
the reef was black we said!
*The Pelinaion was a Greek steamer, built in 1907 in Port Glasgow. At 385 feet long and with a displacement of nearly 4300 tons, she was known by several names as she went through different companies. On 22 December 1939, the Pelinaion left West Africa carrying manganese ore heading for Baltimore. However, as it was during WWII, the St David's lighthouse had been blacked out, and in a feat of military intelligence, no ships could be told this. By January 16 1940, the Pelinaion entered Bermudan waters and hit strong currents. Despite carrying an experienced captain, the Pelinaion ran aground and was wrecked. Part of her now sits straddled across two reefs, and so it is possible to actually swim under the wreck itself.
** poem is not intended to be a factual representation of actual events.
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