Flying Fish
Blue rockets leaping
From their watery home
Spreading their wings
And skimming
Over their sea of troubles
Out of reach of danger.
Can we do it too?
Instead of battling
With the knots of living.
Act out of character
Leap from our strait-jackets
And fly?
Greece, Off Poros, Summer 1993
Farewell to Helsinki
Between the sun and moon
The great ship sails
Away from spires and cranes
Ink-drawn
On a scarlet sky
Along the silver path
To Tallinn.
From Oriana, Baltic Cruise, 2000
Heatwave at Warnemunde
Swimming in saline crystal
Running on the deck like a gecko
Lounging on the lounger like a lizard
Sipping cider.
Gazing through blurred lashes
At the bunting
Stirring in the breeze
Against a blue sky
Going nowhere
Doing nothing.
On Oriana, Baltic Cruise, 2000
Poems by Fran Barker
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