Cape Town Photograph Poem by Barry Middleton

across the inlet Cape Town dots the shore
the homes and buildings are like children's blocks

a steamer pushes heavy near the harbor
and penguins frolic in the breaking waves

beneath the Cape Town light commerce proceeds
the stamp of vibrant life is everywhere

but where we stand to view the drumming scene
upon the rocks, a rotting fishing boat

and I can sense the boat in better times
where brawny men hauled in their load of fish

and in the evening sang and drank their ale
or headed to the port to find their woman

those men are dead, their once proud vessel broken
part taken by the waves and burning sun

and yet that sun will grace another crew
and consecrates the lives the sea reclaims