Postcard From Brazil

Yemanja

Bruce Louis Dodson

Evening in Buzios

Warm sea breeze comes ashore

Caressing . . . sultry breath of oceans
 Fishing boats rock gently

Flashlights blinking from on board

As crews make ready for the coming day.

They call the sea Yemanja here

She is alive

A personality with changing moods that beckon those on land

With siren’s playfulness . . . evocative

The promise of adventure

Whispered in the sound of crashing waves:

           Do not forsake me

           There is no good reason for a man to leave the sea

           I’m everything you want

           Your greatest love

           Both life and death

           All things between.

Her implorations spill from arms that want to hold

Forever

Cool wet shadow slipping through the sand

Returning to drowned lovers.