Casuarina

This song is titled for the casuarina tree, also known as the whistling tree, after the distinctive shushing or whispering sound made by its pines when even a light breeze blows through them. It’s a sound that, if I were to hear it anywhere else, would instantly remind me of Two Boats Village. That tells you a fair bit about the pace of life in Two Boats, probably the sleepiest inhabited corner of Ascension Island.

The second and third verses name two other shrubs found in Two Boats: bougainvillea and yellowboy. In the absence of grass, the fresh pink, white or orange bougainvillea petals provide food for feral rabbits and sheep, as well as for the wild land crabs that roam the village. Once fallen they quickly dry out and heap in corners here and there. The vivid yellow flowers and bright green leaves of the yellowboy tree (Tacoma Stans) overhung our patio alongside the pink bougainvillea. Yellowboy grows wild on the slopes of Mountain Red Hill nearby, its colourful intensity providing a contrast with the deep red of the volcanic dirt below and bright blue sky overhead.

The chorus begins: ‘We used live here’, a borrowed line that I saw handwritten on the wall of a disused former accommodation block in Georgetown, the only other village on the island. It neatly sums up the experience of living on Ascension, where residence is only available to those with a contract of work on the island (and their families, depending on the role), and all contracts are short-term. Travel to the island is expensive, and from most parts of the world (with the exception of South Africa and St Helena) the route is complicated. Sort of like life itself, when you leave, you’re unlikely to be coming back for a visit.