‘I STRETCH MY ARMS' Poem by James Harpur

I stretch my arms like a swan flying
And watch, weightless, the world turning
So high up I can see - endlessly it seems
Rome and white mountains rising beyond,
Triremes at anchor in still Alexandria
Pearl-divers practising from rocks
The wind wandering through the wilderness.
The sun casts no shadow of the compass.
I am rooted to the spot, rotting inside
I had no choice but to choose this perch
And now I cannot choose any more
Each choice I made was like a nail
Fixing my arms to embrace the world.