Three sources: PRONK, Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy, and Derek Walcott’s The Schooner Flight.
I stand on the wharf. A lascar cries from agil To his serang: “bas!” Onboard, a sahib’s Call is glossed by a Malay Who runs to fetch wine For patroon’s kajuit. The bay babbles, but so does town. I face her alleys To hear joyous drums Some free black has brought from her House to the harbor. Above the rhythm — Then — violins commandeer A tune from the waves. Or is it from the Geese honking, circling over Table Mountain?