Tonight's Poet Corner: From Kauai With Love

From Kauai With Love
by Belinda Roddie

Maybe it's the bourbon
or the sirloin steak doing wonders
to my brain and my belly, but I feel
like dancing in the tropical rain
along the shore, the sand caught
between my toes like each grain
has finally found a proper bed to sleep
in. And maybe it's the coffee liqueur

with whipped cream that I slurped
after our meal was done, but I'm both
wired and tipsy enough to make you
twirl with me by the pikake pool. Three
days since we touched down on this lush,
green island, and though the sweat's streamed
from the bridges of our noses, we've braved
the humidity long enough to find the fun
and beauty in what people view as a
"natural paradise." And Hell, maybe it's

because of Sammy Hagar's yowling
from that Van Halen song I listened to nonstop
last time I was here - when I was thirteen
and watching the sunset from the balcony - but
I don't mind a little more music with you. The
thrum of the engine in our rental car, the breath
of the air conditioner in our hotel room while
we cling to one another under the sheets.
The rhythm of the garden isle that's like
a heartbeat I can hear over my own pulse.