Mixed Forms: Haibun||Thomas Smith|"Appearances"

O:JA&L Mixed Forms

Thomas Smith

Appearances

Years ago, I go on a mission trip with my church to Queen Anne’s Bay in Jamaica, just down the coast from Ocho Rios, where the cruise ships dock. Mornings are spent digging a septic tank for a local school—no power tools, just sweat and hand shovels. Two of us at a time climb down a handmade ladder into the 5-meter-deep hole. We fill buckets with dirt and hoist them up to the surface with ropes. It is 35 degrees at the surface—hotter still at the bottom.

I am the doctor in our group. In the afternoons, I have the privilege of joining the local pediatrician on his rounds. He always wears a guayabera, with four patch pockets and delicate alforzas stitched down the front and back. In those pockets he carries his stethoscope, a notebook, his otoscope, and his sunglasses. He looks like a doctor.

One afternoon we have some free time and go into Ocho Rios. It is famous for ganja, hot beer, and gift shops selling oversized wooden carvings of questionable taste. Our minister come with me to give his advice and support. Together we find a small clothing shop that sells guayaberas in white, blue, yellow, and tan. I can’t decide which color to choose.

As I stand there debating, the saleswoman smiles and says, “You should buy one. It will make you look like a doctor.” To be safe, I buy one of each color.

healing under
the rumble of a storm
full afternoon heat

About the writer:
Thomas Smith has written poetry since high school for a number of reasons, including encouraging his wife to marry him. He spent 18 years in academia in Life Sciences. COVID changed his creative focus. His book in verse The Search for King: A Fable was published in 2022. He has published, haiku, tanka, waka, shahai, free verse and rhymed poems, and limericks in a number of literary journals. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family.

Image: Jamaica: Free Time (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. Public domain via Midjourney.

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