Love Poem: The Sea Cave's Lee
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Written by: Diane Leggett

The Sea Cave's Lee

All words and wonder, wobbling copper green Foam and guano floating In the sea cave’s lee A flock of gannets raucous on a rocky pile And the ever-growing echo as the men came by Climbed from the boat And dragged it from the water Bare feet on painful pebbles relieved by sand And, at the back of the cave, they dug on their knees Scooping with their hands A tiny purple phial was found, ancient and Phoenician The granite stopper plucked And, instead of a salty seaweed smell, An oozing, resinous scent From the darkness of consciousness A rose and orange essence Though not exactly a smell Rather a panorama of far-off painted and planted secret messages Kiss-kept by a woman The tinkle of her bangles upon her wrists and ankles still Echoed in the cave as if the lady was there Her glancing eye gripped one cold The press of her heel as she posed before dance The burst of laughter with friends Admiring her pencilled eyebrows and plum-blushed lips Hips and elbows endearingly tipped She leant forward and whispered into the traveller’s ear, All words and wonder: “Find me some ambergris and bring it to Arabia Find me some ambergris to perfume my breasts Find me some ambergris and bring it to my tent.”