Late Afternoon

I

Always perfect, ocean’s roar
On this balmy, distant shore,
The constant waves as vast
As the clouds, scudding past
Torches in the feathered breeze,
Fury that the evening plays to sleep,
Hope that every swimmer sends
That the sunset never ends.

II

Late afternoon is always perfect on this shore—
A hundred pinkish clouds on the edges
Of a metallic sea,
Wisps of feathered vapor
Scudding in a sky as vast
That from day to day it never ends,
Played to sleep by slack-key lullabies,
Royal palms high up waving in the evening
Breeze, boards and bikes and shorts
Like candles in Vermeer,
Lit in corners of the street
By the descending orange sun,
Hibiscus in its ear, and torches
Flaring by the beach café,
As the perfect day
Eases into just another night
And the waves lap gently
At the long sky’s light.

November 10th, 2017, Rosebud
March 27th, 2022, Kaiholu