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Matthew Caretti

Borneo: A Christmas Tale

island ferry
the captain navigates
by oil rig lights

First port of call. Labuan. Malaysian territory. Here duty-free shops overflow with Asian Santas. I knew this would be no ordinary Christmas. If there is such a thing.

Happy Christmas!
a beggar offers up
his wooden leg

The muezzin calls midday adhan. I turn again toward the port. Step over the slow trickle of water. Young men hurriedly perform ablutions. Old men kneel facing Mecca. Hands folded.

seaside mosque
sins drain
into the surf

Coffee shops hum soft Christmas carols. Some semblance of the familiar. I ponder the meaning of the season. Board again the ferry. Descend into second class.

slow sway of the sea
dreams of sugarplums
that never come

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About the Author

Matthew Caretti began publishing his poems in 2009, though his fascination with Eastern short-form genres began much earlier. In 2017, he won the Snapshot Press eChapbook Award for Harvesting Stones.