Oasis

lighted atrium, blue sky, clouds
soft waters, mosaic, waterfall
churning pool, the noise echoing
the brain space, gross heat
hard wooden slats, my bones
soaked-in sun-heat, lungs
lit up with hot dry air, sweat
falling rivulets - circuit
of pool, whirlpool, sauna, I
thought of the Romans in their
stupendous baths

was there a meeting of minds?  
privileged woman in her luxury
home with luxurious holidays
Venice Simplon Express, Rome -
not much connects us now,
the conduit broken for a decade
this one who will spend over
eight hundred pounds on a handbag!

but the female company was nice,
the day not crowded with fools,
and I thought of our different
roads, the terrain we walked through -
she lost her mother and father, as me,
but decades later, and her silly
daughter, struck over and over
goes back for more

on a heated bed, body cradled,
a masseuse eased my battered
limbs, tuned-up my muscles like
an instrument
and, tonight, awake in the dark
I waited downstairs with ease

as if the blue waters flowed
through me and
poured me down the steps:  lay-
lines of energy all running
the same way, no obstacle

I am not wrinkled like an old
woman, body hollowed-out
like a cask - I still have
firm flesh and good muscles
still fit for my tasks

today was a roadside stop
an oasis in the desert
the palm trees swayed and the
precious water pooled and
tinkled over stones:  I watered
all my world
fed my camels
and under a blue sky, calm
winds, we all set off again
refreshed, rejuvenated, minds
eased of their burdens, and,
for once, all the chorus of
complaint from my poor
broken bones
was silent

and in the night
when the stars came out
and the velvet sky stretched
to infinity, my eyes beheld
the bejewelled dark
with smiles
and a contented heart

previous poem

next poem