James – Santiago

Palo santo struggling to bloom
In the sun and dry,
The sea surges to fill the grotto
Lacing the ebon lava,
The fur seals greet each stranger
Secure in their pacific home.

Because humans were so late to the Galapagos, most of the animals are unafraid of human contact. Unfortunately, the fur seal had been hunted almost to extinction. On land they were very shy but in the water it was a different story. They seemed to enjoy swimming with human companions, inviting games of chase, peer into the face mask, tug the flipper. The sheer exhuberance as the sea washed us into the grotto and out again was breath taking. MJG

August 3, 2019 0

Bartolome

Rising to tear the sky
Toothed craters tower
Climbing to touch the sun,
Emptiness in your plains
Barren of all save thought
Necklaced by the emerald sea,
The sun devils laugh
In the searing sky
While an old man broods upon the rock.

I was snorkling in the cove by Pinnacle Rock. I noticed that from that angle, it looked like a churchman in full regalia. MJG

August 3, 2019 0

Fungie

Wave dancer
Teasing with sensuous grace
Delighted to entice,
The dolphin comes

Sea runner
Exploring sunken secrets
Excited with wonder,
The dolphin leaps

Ocean child
Content in wild innocence
Happy in sweet freedom,
The dolphin plays.

Fungie or the Dingle Dolphin, is common bottlenose dolphin who has been interacting with humans for better than thirty years. He readily seeks the company of fishermen, kayakers, and swimmers in Dingle Harbour. I don’t know if Fungie is still alive but I would love to meet him. He embodies the playful, welcoming spirit of the Irish. The painting is mine. MJG

July 26, 2019 0

Wisdom

In bitter sorrow
I walked beside the sea,
Felt the guttural roaring of the waves
Raging against the sand,
Trapped and lost
Feeling squandered in futility
Tattered sea foam blowing on the shore,
Dry and dying it sinks into the sand
Deep it reaches to find its level
Then in finding is drawn back,
Back to become part of the sea,
In awe of the sea foam’s wisdom
I felt laughter bubbling in my throat
And I, too, turned again home.

This, I think, is my Celtic nature. I may lose some battles and that hurts. But then I remember that I am still here and there is still joy. That’s the greater victory. MJG

July 25, 2019 0

South Plaza

Sweet jewel of sunlit rock
Abounding in life,
Burnt rubies on your rocks
Pink marble, gift of the sealions,
Busy, always busy
Terns and petrels, dark motes against the sea,
Swallow tail gulls, drifting on wings of wind
Great frigates lurking above,
The business of birthing at hand
Leaving infants crying in new found freedom,
Red and golden dragons welcome all who come.

July 24, 2019 0

Fernandina

Black lava painted with verdant mangroves
The jealous sealions guard their sapphire pools,
Clumsy cormorants tender in love
Share their gifts of the sea,
Yellow sparks of warbler
Dance among the trees,
Tiny dragons dream upon the rocks
Ageless, asleep in the dying sun.

As a biology teacher I have to be honest. Fernandina doesn’t have saddleback tortoises like the one in the painting. That’s actually Lonesome George who was the last survivor of the Pinta tortoises. Gone now, too. I never wrote a poem about Pinta but I think I saw George at the research center on Santa Cruz. He deserves to be remembered. MJG

July 24, 2019 0

Blue Footed Booby

Clumsy bobo
With feet dyed by the sea,
Awkward antics of love
Show her your bright blue feet,
Then strain all skyward
To solicit heavens good graces.

July 22, 2019 0

Hello

It is obvious that I am no expert in the fine art of designing and navigating the intricacies of blogging. I am learning. I was encouraged to start the blog as a means of archiving my writing and art. I’ve been writing poems and stories since I learned to manipulate a pencil; the drawing and painting is much more recent a thing.

I write about places I’ve been, people that I have known or studied. History, stories, mythology intrigue me. The world of Nature calls to me. These are the things that move me to write.

To whomever reads my words, I hope that they cause you to feel or think or dream or hope or something. I would like to hear from you, to learn where my words have traveled, to whom they have spoken. Regardless, thank you for finding my words and best wishes to you. MJG

June 29, 2019 0

Las Islas

Dreaming gently in a forgotten land
Touched only by warm and loving winds
Perhaps soothed by the silent rain,
Sleeping in soft oblivion
Without thought or care of time
Remote, beyond the touch of now,
The quiet peace of being nothing
A small part in the greater whole
Sunlight jeweling a spider’s web.

The Galapagos Islands are a chain of volcanic islands six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador. I spent time there studying some of the native organisms. The sealions were favorites although each indigenous species is unique and special. The animals were fearless and curious of humans. Each island had its own magic to be discovered. “Las Islas”, “Espanola” and several other poems were inspired by these enchanted islands.

June 29, 2019 0

Espanola

Greeted by joyful sealions
Playing along your shores
Drowsing on your sands,
The blue foots and the masked
Concerned with their business of living
Complete in their fulfillment,
The sea explodes against the rocks
Strains to touch the clouds
Falls back and showers the lava,
The last albatross soars away.

June 26, 2019 0