MUSKETS AND ORCHIDS
Hanging window handle, I turn it
- Chubby wind gushes in.
A big, fat sky and sea flaunt it.
Me and my motor rub our chins.
Leaves flow away, looking away;
Rivers, they surf over, dawdling water -
My wheels turn, chuckling like a blue jay.
Lakes, they sit and then they glitter.
The lighthouse road, follows the docks;
Bubbly sea froth says "swelljuggling".
Waves go "smackabash" on the rocks.
Bubbly sea froth then says "swelljuggling".
You did and said somethin' see:
And now I'm buzzing.
You sent the letter to me;
By Royal Mail, it came, seeking,
I opened the letter driving;
"It smelled and felt of sunset", I remember - I did say.
And now I'm driving;
I'm coming, passing by, your way.
About This Poem
Written in May 2002, this joyful poem captures the exhilaration of a coastal road trip driven by romantic anticipation. The speaker has received a letter—one that "smelled and felt of sunset"—and is now driving along a seaside route to meet the sender. The poem is full of playful, inventive language: wind is "chubby," the sky and sea are "big, fat," wheels "chuckle like a blue jay," and the sea froth coins its own word, "swelljuggling." This linguistic inventiveness mirrors the speaker's buzzing excitement. The landscape itself seems to share in the speaker's joy—leaves flowing away, rivers surfing, lakes glittering. The lighthouse road, docks, and waves create a quintessentially American coastal scene, while the detail of "Royal Mail" suggests a transatlantic connection. The contrast between "Muskets" (suggesting colonial American history) and "Orchids" (delicate, exotic flowers) in the title reflects the poem's own contrast between the rough road journey and the delicate romantic purpose driving it. It's a celebration of both the journey and the destination, of movement and connection.