Delirium's downpour
Swamps the tides of evening.
Gin sets lips to champagne.
Night sweats; pearls of sweat
Squat in armpit and crotch.
Breathing labours.
The mosquito makes his rounds,
Stirring the air with unease.
On the wall,
Calvin, the family founder,
Peers out of the Victorian permafrost.
Wood
Swells with the weather;
A tropical disease
Hollows the crucifix.
On the air, the smell of wet earth,
Breadfruit and mango,
The sweet rot of the fertile sun.
The rain thunders; under cover,
Flesh blends to one race of night
In a single bed.