We are eating Subway sandwiches
On a beach in Hawaii
Under an umbrella of trees
Over the cruel black lava
And indifferent sand
Next to turquoise water
Churned by the warm winds
Tourists idyllic we romance about
The natural world watching a
Hawaiian or Samoan family
At the next table across the
Gulf of time barbecue
Two dark fish over the open flame
The father, cigarette held low at his side
Turns the fish with his fingers
Cautiously
His little daughter eats chips
And pokes the fish with a spoon
To see if the fish are still alive
Flopping on the flame
Drowning in the air
And tortured by the fire
Like St.Joan at the stake
The fish flop and scream silently
In memory of the turkey
We eat with cheese and tomatoes
In the dying shade of the tropical afternoon