Preserving Serenity

Preserving Serenity by Supernova-Exploding

Watching the sun rise over the ship yards
A tin of cowboy coffee tucked in the ashes
The last flickering flames before we kick them around.

Scaling the fence to climb the piers
Rust, barbed wire, and fallen-out floors
A headstand on a girder
precarious above waves far below.

The way the trees frame my vision
Train tracks triangle to the horizon
Row of dirty tanned kids with muscular backs
filing along, scuffing
torn shoes and walking on beams
smiling and swaying as the drugs take hold
The last hit on the red sand beach
where the nudists and the transients go.

If I could preserve odours with paint -
the scent of the air, the fresh early morning,
with colours convey the tranquility
of trailing my toes in clear water,
yoga poses on a submerged rock,
the stillness, the simultaneous
solitude and solidarity
with all our hearts in the same place
and all of us free -
yes, if I could preserve that in a painting
then without a doubt I would
and maybe my mind would lose the serenity
so maybe
it's a good thing I can't.