The Golden Veil
for William Everson
Is it for the Sun they come?
It is for the golden veil spread by the Sun,
for the ageless, unparalleled beauty of Her,
for a smile they come—
O this warm winter’s breath, bright blue-eyed sky,
the bare charms of this gorgeous, reclining Bay
enticing
All over the beach swimsuit bodies soak up
the splendor of the brilliant, low-slant Sun,
while children build with sand, and they run & run,
and dogs kick up feet and snap at air for joy,
while lovers and loners stroll the day leisurely,
eyes roving,
and over the seductive, steel-blue water
sails slowly skate, skate.
Upon the perfect, unbroken line of the curve of Her body,
shapes of blue sleeping giants
tower over
*
From this cliff, amidst twisted cypress and pine,
my friend and I have climbed, I gaze upon the coastal
maiden,
pondering how humankind is always drawn by Her beauty,
how well She entices, how bodies unsheathe themselves
unabashed before the golden smile; yet, only to repose,
only to repose,
only to bask in the golden dreams of the Sun,
drawn to, but no further, no further.
The eye passes quickly over the Sun;
the eye blinks. Oh, beautiful the veil.
*
Would I deny?
I, too, enjoy the golden dreams of the Sun;
I, too, repose and play, to the seductive power
of Her smile succumb;
I, too, am charmed by the veil;
but my eye still returns, my eye returns,
bold to gaze upon—
The brilliant, shimmering water makes a path to the Sun
to the Sun
to the Sun
where She takes me
where She invites me
where She
unveils
where an awesome Beauty, blinding to behold,
shines
February 1987