Odyssey From Africa 11c
Chapter 11c (The Island Kingdom, continued...)
Every member of the party
Had their fill of roasted sea-flesh
All the dogs and Rosy also
Wolfed down all that they could swallow
Then they rose up and departed
Heading north along the coastline
Journeyed all day without stopping
By late afternoon arriving
At a sheltered sand embayment
Where they halted for the evening
Quickly setting up a campsite
Posted guards and lit a wood fire
Several other warrior parties
Now converged upon the beachfront
From the north along the coastline
Coming east from the interior
Warriors of the Island Kingdom
All along the beach their campfires
Flickered in the deepening shadows
Voices murmured in the night air
Han and Kwona and their family
Shared a supper with their escorts
In a mood of quiet tension
Sleeping little in the nighttime
Matto's thoughts were with Ipiki
How his creature would endure the
Ocean crossing in a sail boat
So he made some preparations
Up and down the sandy shore he
Gathered victuals for Ipiki
Caterpillars, grubs and insects
Held within a chamber fashioned
From a shell of coconut and
Kept alive with grass and seaweed
To ensure a fresh supply for
Many days upon the ocean
In the light before the morning
Han and Kwona stood together
Looking to the sea horizon
For the moment of the sunrise
Then upon the dawning skyline
Objects faintly could be sighted
First the needle tips of ship-masts
Then the sails and hulls of vessels
Soon they saw a whole flotilla
Tacking in toward the shoreline
Han could see that these were masters
Of the craft of wind and sailing
Han had once experimented
With a sail to speed his vessel
But for fishing work he favoured
Boats with paddle and outrigger
Which were nimble in manoeuvre
With an unimpeded workspace.
As the ships approached the shallows
All the warriors rose to meet them
Leading ships now rode the breakers
Groups of men hauled each boat shoreward
Just beyond the foaming wave front
Then began the mass embarking
To each ship a group of warriors
Fast converged then climbed the gunwales
Han and all his family running
With their group of armed companions
To their designated vessel
Han now boarded with his family
Rosy and Ipiki with them
Strong arms helped them climb the hull-sides
Matto tried to shield Ipiki
From the salty sprays of water
As a dozen barefoot sailors
Launched them back into the breakers
Copyright © Phil Salmon | Year Posted 2017
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