Fred Marchant

Poet and translator, workshop teacher, and manuscript consultation

  • About
    • Interviews
  • Poems
  • Essays
  • News
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Poetry
  • Translation
  • Editor
  • Anthologies
  • All Books

Tipping Point

 

— Okinawa, 1970

 

Late blue light, the East

China Sea, a half-mile out. . .

masked, snorkeled, finned,

 

rising for air, longing for it,

and in love with the green

knife-edged hillsides, the thick

 

aromatic forests, and not ready

for the line of B-52’s coming in

low on the horizon, three airplanes

 

at a time, bomb-empty after

the all-day run to Viet Nam.

Long, shuddering wings, and predatory,

 

dorsal tail-fins, underbelly

in white camouflage, the rest

jungle-green, saural, as if a gecko had

 

grown wings, a tail-fin, and

nightmare proportions. Chest deep,

on the reef-edge, I think of the war smell

 

which makes it back here:

damp red clay, cordite, and fear-salts

woven into the fabric of everything not

 

metal: tarps, webbed-belts,

and especially the jungle “utes,”

the utilities, the fatigue blouses

 

and trousers which were not

supposed to rip, but breathe,

and breathe they do–not so much

 

of death–but rather the long

living with it, sleeping in it,

not ever washing your body free of it.

 

A corporal asked me if he still stank.

I told him no, and he said,

“With all due respect, Lieutenant,

 

I don’t believe you.” A sea snake,

habu, slips among the corals,

and I hover while it slowly passes.

 

My blue surf mat wraps its rope

around me, tugs inland

at my hips while I drift over ranges

 

of thick, branching elkhorn,

over lilac-pale anemones,

over the crown-of-thorns starfish,

 

and urchins spinier than naval

mines, over mottled slugs,

half-buried clams, iridescent angelfish.

 

The commanding general said,

“Every man has a tipping point,

a place where his principles give way.”

 

I told him I did not belong

to any nation on earth, but

a chill shift of wind, its hint of squall

 

beyond the mountain tells me

no matter what I said or how,

it will be a long swim back,

my complicities in tow.

 

Fred Marchant's signature

from Tipping Point

Share:

Poems

Thoreau quote at Walden PondA Cairn by the Cabin
A Place at the Table, poem by Fred Marchant. Photo by Stefi RubinA Place at the Table
Bristlecone, poem by Fred MarchantBristlecone
library
Olive Harvest, poem by Fred MarchantOlive Harvest
On a Collage by Peter Sacks
St. John's Point, photo and poem by Fred MarchantSt. John’s Point
The Looking House, poem and photo by Fred MarchantThe Looking House Stanza
Migrants, poem and photo by Fred MarchantThe Migrants
The Peach, by Võ Quê
The Salt Stronger, poem and photo by Fred MarchantThe Salt Stronger
Fred Marchant, reading for Warrior WritersTipping Point

Let's stay in touch!

* = required field

Follow Me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Search

Privacy and Cookie Policy

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 Fred Marchant · created by Present Tense

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPTCookie settingsRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT