by Michael Topa

Unexpectedly
A fragment from 1968 returns
It was literally heaven on earth
When you waded out
Into the vast Pacific dipped your hands
Amid the coral reefs

You swam at leisure sometimes floating and relaxed
Face upwards
As you watched in utter contentment
The sun-ragged clouds and gentle wind
Traversing the island of Guam

Later that night
You would discover the gash on your leg
Made by a brush with a coral reef
That festered for months

The souvenir scar has stayed with you
And fetched these words today out of its keloid
As a gift