A Fall and A Poem

a) I've had a fall, more accurately a stumble/tumble getting out rather carelessly of my chair in my study. I can’t afford not to be vigilant. Luckily I was able to break it by grabbing the sofa as I fell. I was even able to drag myself up again. But it took considerable effort and left me very shaken.

b) I’ve been asked what were the two poems I had selected for the recently released science fiction anthology, Voyages. Here’s one called 'Return'. I’ve always had an unfashionable sneaking liking for a narrative poem, one that tells a story in the economical way a poem can. High School acquaintance with Patrick Spens and The Highwayman probably nudged this heresy into my inheritance.

Great advance for a Gill. These cumbersome
uniforms work. Exhilaration mingles with
apprehension as Findolphin and I exchange
thumbs up. The first time our species has
left the water. The star-sparkles are brighter
and appear closer here above the safety zone.
Cautiously, slowly we flip to the wall of
earth-weed that merges into the sand.
Difficult to cut, stems are tougher than
we anticipated. The gigantic growth
overhead is beyond our reach. Voice
tells us time to start our return.

Legend
has it that our ancestors once lived on
this shore & bred our gills to farm the sea.
Radical theologians reject this. Our elegance
has no need for such superstition, outmoded
like original sin. But it remains, a satisfying myth.

What’s this? A strange menacing creature
- looks like a seal with legs like a lobster
two fewer, baring teeth as it circles us.
We fumble backwards towards the foam.
Suddenly it lunges. Its claws pierce
Findolphin’s suit. The life-support
water flows out. I hesitate. Should I assist
him or get our specimens back. I seek advice.
Assist him they say. But a glance shows me
he is beyond aid the animal tearing at his
apparel & - horror - his flesh. His look of
anguish I’ll never forget. Obviously a type
of land-shark. As more of the monster’s
kind burst out of the undergrowth I retreat.
I do not think we will ever survive in that
environment. My report is not well-received.
They build an obelisk on the outer side of
the reef to us but they make it clear I should
have died a martyr. For my cowardice they
condemn me. I now extract sea-snake venom.