Marie by Vicente Reyes

Marie

Rose scented waters bathe your creamy soft body at dawn

And your hair is upswept by your tender fingers to form

A graceful crown of blonde and brown as your profile

Forms a pattern of delight manifested in your smile.

Stare deep into a crystal and comb your silky locks,

Take my hand in perfumed hours and in the shops

We find delight in fitting you into so many styles.

Your slender waist is the envy of the many but oh

What delight it is to hold you close and kiss you.

The city streets are ablaze in colors as the people stir

And the shops are painted like children’s wooden toys.

The sidewalks are filled with so many faces but none

Is as sweet as yours and I look upon your hair in place

When day is done and I embrace and make you mine.

You are blissfully unaware of just how you appear,

As even the Mona Lisa was unaware as she did peer

At the funny looking man standing before her in a daze

Seeking to capture in shadow a subtly echoed grace.

Yet in frustration at the way we cannot picture light,

He cast a canvassed dream into the fabric of the night.

Stand there now a little longer and enflame my reverie,

For there is no artist ever who could picture you, Marie.

August 14, 2000

First North American Serial Rights Available

May be reprinted freely for personal review or academic discussion

Translation notes: Spanish by Vicente Reyes, all others by SYSTRAN

If you can help correct any errors in the translations please e-mail today.