the end ... ..art by portia subran dream reader art by portia subran let bygones be bygones a poem by loretta oleck xmarks the spot where the hatchet is buried- once and for all under the thatched roof hut stash it flash it mash it up baby as palms nod teasingly towards the sea scrappy dogs roam free scampering ahead or lagging behind as we stagger along- their watchfulness a keen reminder that theres a bleating heart of darkness on this island the sea is blue but gritty too washing up seaweed and salt and coughed up blood from a past where blood was bought or taken or buried in the mangrove swamps scrubby hills sugarcane all those places where fire burns debris surrounded by a gaping witness- the mouth of sky asking why do some have so little while others have so much ?