Treasured Island
"For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land,
so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti,
full of peace and joy,
but encompassed by all of the horrors of the half-lived life."
----- Herman Melville from: Moby Dick
The rocky cliffs rise
above the sea,
like a great wall holding back
the watery main.
Nations vie
to control small bits of earth
still, the appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land,
and erodes the soil
'til nothing's left
but reef,
like one who is stripped
of all the frivolous
trappings foolishly acquir