Islands are born

I Esther Island (Hurricane Esther cut off part of Nantucket) I was there when the island was cut, When kraken lapped the bitter salt And seaweed streamed from its jaws. Its knobby snout pushed through the sand. Bayberry bushes, blackberry thorn And roots of roses were torn away. I was there, and saw the monster bite A frothy firth through the neck of land. A hurricane island was born. II Surtsey I was there when an island was born of fire, When Surtur broke through the sea and flared Up, up into the sky. I was high above when the pilot said, "Look down!"m In the somber night A ring of fire glowed red. A giant roared through the hissing steam And lava poured down the sloping sides Of an island being born. III Martha's Vineyard Before I came a glacier formed The ponds, the hills, the sandy plains, And brought the yellow heather Dropped rocks for walls on Chilmark hills Left rich brown soil to plough and seed And started brooklets running. When titans from the north came down How cold and terrible the birth That time has warmed and mellowed.