This month has an "r" in it
so we venture forth;
rockbound quarry clings, silent.
We clutch plastic bags.
From Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper (Harbour Publishing: 2015)
A kouta is a Japanese form which was once a song form consisting of four lines with beats per line of either 7 5 7 5 syllables OR 7 7 7 5. I have used the former structure to write this poem commemorating our attempts to pick some of the thousands of mussels clinging to the black volcanic rocks surrounding Lennard Island Lightstation. Truth is, we are not big fans of mussels but hey, it was free protein. In the cold months (with an 'r' in them like January or April) when there is traditionally less risk of red tide, a paralytic toxin which shellfish injest and eventually eject. But in the meantime it can cause death and suffering beforehand to people. So after checking marine sites online for warnings of red tide in our area, we'd try to pick two dozen or so to have a big pot of them immersed in tasty sauces.
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