When She Comes

She awaits the dawn in a seashore hollow where the gulls

Hungrily swallow the uptossed crumbs she shares.

Her sand coloured curls like foamy waves frame her ivory face,

And her emerald eyes pierce softly through the foggy hour.

Her slim pearl tipped fingers have shed the rings

Of metals mined from mountain depths.

For Neptune has cast his spell over her spirit,

And a necklace of rare shell is her treasure.

The seaweed strands in her talented hands became a shawl,

Worn but for a day and a walk upon the beach.

No other covering over her windswept dunes.

How blessed is the tender path she weaves lightly,

For the timeless sands of golden crystals kiss her soles

And the saltwater creeps as if to touch her,

Like I long to every time I see her.

She comes to me when by solitude shrouded,

After the stars and the coldest sprays upon her cheeks,

And the little fires, and the tunes God gives me

Are laid upon her altar by the darkest winds.

I pray for the warmth of handheld bowls of soup,

For the loving steam from cups of tea brewed,

In the silence of our lives and the shelter of tied poles,

When like Adam held Eve we blend kindred souls.

I have tasted her sorrow and rejoiced at her laugh,

That heavenly sound for which I'd sail forever,

And from which source oh God don't ever sever

My heart; and keep her voice by me, that sweet song

More precious to me than all that lies in Babylon.

Vicente Reyes

Spring, 1996

Internet source: http://www.thepoetsdiary.com/

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