Odyssey From Africa 11e

Odyssey from Africa, Chapter 11e, The Island Kingdom (continued) Matto, Lisa and their parents Contemplated now a journey On the ocean that was longer Far than any in their memory One whole week upon the ocean Lay before them in the sail-boat As a crewman bid them gather Distributing food and water At the stern a sort of shelter Had been formed by stretching fabric From the transom to the gunwales And this shelter gave them refuge From the rain and storm-blown sea spray From the arduous heat of noontime Here they slept in hours of darkness Guarded from the wind and weather Later as the sun was sinking Han observed as from the crewmen One stepped forward holding high an Artefact of detailed craftwork Wooden struts of perfect straightness Held at angles by a bracket Fashioned out of fire-wrought metal Mounting polished metal mirrors Now the sailors used this sextant To establish their position Based upon the elevation Of the sun from the horizon (Later Han would learn to use the Sextant for his navigation Sailing round the other-worldly Coastline of the Island Kingdom) Four straight days and nights of sailing Brought them to a waypoint island That today we call Comoros Halfway to the Island Kingdom Here the whole flotilla rested Here refilled their flasks of water And among the crowds of sea-birds Spent a night on terra firma On this island in the mountains Lived Ipiki’s distant cousin Livingstone’s enormous fruit bat Soaring with a four-foot wingspan After Comoros the wind turned Favourably in strength and bearing So with three more days of sailing They beheld the Island Kingdom Saw the land of Madagascar Fill the starboard's whole horizon Saw the earth's fourth largest island Africa's tectonic sibling Now the ships prepared to clear the Northern tip of Madagascar Wheeling south round what today is Cape Andronovondronina (That great island's wondrous place names Long and beautiful to utter Are a little hard to fit Into inverse iambic rhythm!) As they entered coastal waters Matto and his sister Lisa Stared intently in the water Watching the abundant sea-life Shoals of iridescent fishes Captivated their attention Now and then a pod of sand sharks Sped like golden ghosts beneath them In the flickering blue-green half-light Sharks of many kinds were sighted With the ever-present sea snakes As they neared the kingdom's shoreline