On Matemwe beach
time is analogue
and circular
and erases the past
just as the breezes
gently erase
the future.
So life on the beach
follows the tides
and turns with the moon
waxing then waning
And makes you
an unbelievable present.

You could go for a morning walk
north 5 kms or south 5 kms
When the sands remain
wide and neap
And the moon is gibbous

You could scour the reef
For new moon treasures
Dive or goggle off Mnemba
Under the midday sun

You could keep swimming
For the afternoon springs
When everything becomes high
And in flux, and the tide rules.

Or go sailing later with the seabirds
Into the teeth of a fresh kusi.

Or you could just sit quiet
On your upstairs deck
And watch the great controller
In all his lunar glory
heave himself out of the eastern ocean.

Then, of course, you would have seen it all.