Leslie E. Hoffman

The massive Pacific pummels
the mile-out barrier reef
like ancient Polynesian drums
beating an alpha rhythm

on Bora Bora
coconut palms weep
the tepid sea bespeckled
as clouds of perles noir
mask the Southern Cross
jagged bolts of platinum
set alight the vulcan sky

quixotic as the South Seas
clusters of perles créme return
mirrored in the transparent lagoon
while Otuu struts the water´s edge
sun ripened Maohi
wrapped loosely in pareus
their beauty crowned with Tiare Tahiti
sway to the beat of ancestral drums
at the foot of Otemanu
on Bora Bora