The Reef

by Marc Mangel

A haven for them and a heaven for us.

to them of purple and yellow and black or

stripes or ripples of blue

its just another working day (“Up from the nest,

to the reef, scavenge some food and blah, blah”)

for us of flesh or darker of lighter or darker still

its a high

a kaleidoscope of life

ballooning and swooning

or swaying and playing

in a million to the tenth of

colour

a high is hard to get anymore

a good high is nigh impossible and

the reef has got that high

October 1972