200 ft above,
from a sun-soaked perch
without distraction of obstruction
we sipped
on the cool
of the lulling landscape

The rhythmic purposeful journey
of one singular
white-capped bumbling wave
slipping slowly
towards tranquility
a twinkling
pearl-white sandy beach
bustling
with tiny indistinguishable
creatures
content at leisurely play

Then gently,
awareness,
of profound
a sense of silence,
time stopped,
sitting side by side,
a table set
between mutually unspoken
veneration

Entranced
by this stirring moment’s
humming connection
to something
infinitely unknowable
by ordinary means

Peering deeply
into the elegance of
symmetric
perfection,
unhewn beauty
creation’s natural state

In any
one
of its edifying,
myriad configurations:
an orchid-colored
vermillion sunset,
an ancient
flowering tulip tree,
shimmering
wind-blown
silver-grey undulations
of golden-green olive groves,
speckled
with multiple shades of
orange
pink
and rosey
wild flowers,
a herd of snowy white
long-haired
floppy-eared
milking goats,
gently urged by an old man’s
sparkling smile
from beneath his
torn and
worn-out sailor’s cap,
tussles of black and greying hair
pressing forward to protect
his chocolate
mediterranean sun-smooched
salentinian skin,
like the setting of
a perfect postcard
snapshot
in contrast
to sapphire skies
an azure sea

Vulnerable
to its awesome power,
when unexpectedly
confronted
by simple
earthly majesty,
we very human
beings
– tugged
powerlessly,
toward the precipice of beauty’s unrequited lust,
free-fall
into states of suspended
animation,
within the claustrophobic
confines
of the mesmerized
heart

Then shifting,
shifting
outward,
away
from the enduring emptiness of
wanting…
toward the joyful
completeness of connection,
the desire
to set
and be set free,
as though to keep
this one
infinitesimally
minute stingy moment’s
treasure trove of indulgence
to one’s self,
would shatter
its truth
its existence

The stronger the pull
towards the space
between thoughts
transcendending
time & place
the more compelling
an urge
to bask
in its ebullient presence
with another
kindred soul:
a partner, lover,
an intimate friend

We spiritual beings
in human form
drawn
like butterflies to buttercups
to annihilating beauty
as though
subconsciously recognizing
that within its
unmistakable signature,
lie our very own origins,
an unassailable
singularity
with the infinite,
with creation itself