NAGASAKI

Nagasaki There are nights when things become clear  when the Pacific Ocean lived up to its name  I sat on deck, listened to the heartbeat of the vessel, which ticked faster when an engineer  opened a door and came out on the deck Laughter in the mess hall, no, I was not at ease in their company, too old at sixty I have tried the swagger, the misogyny, where  Women were either whores or mothers The ship was bound for Nagasaki, and I had been here before when looking for a graveyard  where Portuguese sailors had died when Japan was an unknown land When walking down the gangway,  didn't  to say goodbye, it was dinner time anyway before flying back to Europe