Caribbean
by Donald Hall
Montego Bay
in its quick curve
listens
to the plane, waiting
for the cross of silver to
soften down.
In the air, above,
past the frail
wing and the gauze
glint of propellers,
we see the thick
curve of the green:
the aqua-
marine!
This is the Caribbean
Sea, and the Bay
which gathers into
its shallows all
measures of green,
until, in the sun, the
patches declare
communities of depth, from
bright to sombre.
Touch them.
PHOTO: Montego Bay, Jamaica. Photo by Entrum, used by permission.
NOTE: Jamaica, an island country, is the third-largest island in the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). The island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, and remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England assumed power. The island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on August 6, 1962.
