SCALES

Here they come  
strong arms swinging twig legs from crutches  
their beacon the moonlight on my safety jacket  
a port of sticks and wash    
the swinging bridge a cross over  
razor shells cuttle scales  
scales of distant nightclubs singing    
A rope I hold on stiff with salt  
waiting in kerosene lamp light    
shark smiles pitch black white eyes spiders back  
the scuttle of crab shadows across the dune  
to carry my luggage over    
drains of shit spilling with the tide and monsoon puddles  
bellow deep and low before the blue  
with nothing to sell except guilt  
for their wars and their daughters and beer  
I want lager and have a daughter  
want warmth and water    
And love for we are human too.