Bali Hai Ku

surfers ride the waves
backlit by aurora
fronting sandy shores

finch at the window
wanting to duet
but not with me

trekking through jungle
on sunniest of days
stroboscopic

in a swirling fog
moon hides and seeks the temple
ready or not

palm tree branches
pinwheel hours all at once
hands of time gone wild

Expat New Yorker James Penha (he/him) has lived for the past three decades in Indonesia. Nominated for Pushcart Prizes in fiction and poetry, his work is widely published in journals and anthologies. His newest chapbook of poems, American Daguerreotypes, is available for Kindle. His essays have appeared in The New York Daily News and The New York Times. Penha edits The New Verse News, an online journal of current-events poetry. Twitter: @JamesPenha