Water Taxis

A poem submitted by Arnold Greenburg

They roar and splash
and go from dock to dock,
and make the sea an avenue
with waves that sparkle in the sun,
and even in the rain and wind,
where dark clouds hover,
the boats take folks
to town and back for what they need
to live their island lives,
and standing by their motors,
steering with their hands and eyes,
its these little captains
that keep this archipelago alive,
that for a buck or two
roar and splash and seldom flounder
like we do on our boats inside
and in the jungles of our minds
search for a beach where we can stand
and see the smooth green water
of our lives.

Sometimes,
I watch these little boats roar by,
hopping as they rush like happy children
splashing in the waves,
and think of times before the boats
when only natives lived their island lives,
and the streets of Bocas town were dirt,
and these islands were forgotten
and far apart,
and Time was slow,
not like now and know
its the boats that go from dock to dock,
that roar and splash
that bring the islands closer,
and for some odd reason
remember the nursery rhyme
row, row row your boat
life is but a dream
and watch another boat speed by…