Promise in the light

Staring out across dark water
I see the lights of a distant dock --
a resort, in fact:
the night air,
lightly scented with the music of their dancing,
slides toward me
concentric ripples of sound:
they are partying;
I am alone.

But the camera,
swaying to the music
as it peers across the water,
sees each gift this solitude carries;
a platoon of wise men,
their offerings of mercy and insight;
life's feast of many flavors,
served in the silence by burqa-clad waiters,


or possibly a procession of Marys,
each bearing her own promise of rebirth and resurrection.




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