on the deck

by bus from Seattle to Vancouver, then down again. breath of the Pacific Rim. fantastic cruises to Alaska.

on the cantilevered deck

over Port Susan Bay

the Pacific sun slants

and casts vertical stripes

across the old wood slats



as the sun ascends

the shadowed stripes thicken

striking increasingly acute angles

with the parallel planks

of the old pine deck



in a cockeyed square

the sun burnishes two old pennies

they flash suddenly, gleaming copper

juxtaposed like jeweled game pieces

on some ancient runic chessboard



on the fir tree before me

an irregular rank of fat sparrows

stand like pawns in a row for a moment

then they explode in a flurry

the volcano looms



the pennies fade

to pale fired brown

the sun's hot tongue licks up

the last iridescent jewels of dew

from the old wood deck



--Ross Bender