Tuesday poem: Bathers from Poland
October 7, 2013
Bathers from Poland
They are on their way;
my new bathers, adorned
with palm trees so neon
they glowed on Bikini
when the Americans
taught sand to speak atomic.
Bathers from Poland
to Australia;
winging their way
through choked skies,
changing the air
and thickening it
with chemical spread.
One piece retro.
Black, and a blue
never seen on any beach
where water meets grin
of yellow sand.
Modesty panel!
You will shade
a shyer smile of glee.
P.S. Cottier
This is not Canberra.
Having returned from a very sybaritic week at the beach (not the beach above, but a ‘proper Aussie beach’) I thought I would post this poem about some bathers I really did buy from Poland. Which is like selling coals to Newcastle, in reverse. I think.
Are they beachifying themselves in New Zealand, the United States, or Paris? I know not! I will press this albatross feather to find out, and I suggest you do the same:
PS Cottier 
Love your use of imagery and metaphor, in each verse. Thought I particularly liked the reference to Bikini and teaching the sand to speak atomic; but then each other verse was just as good – love it! A powerful message told with a hint of whimsy.
Thank you Norah!
I think I was trying to work through my guilt about ordering an unnecessary item from Europe by seeing the batters in different lights: historical and climatic.
You achieved it!