A night that’s changing colors from the green
of summer to the pumpkin cream of autumn leaves
Brought to not quite bustling life
by lights and glows from lamps and streets
Seated in a tiny square a few stairs up
from city feet,
with lilies as the centerpiece
So clean, they deceive the gorgeous grimy
scene in a wondrous simplicity of their own

Sparkling moon on dull pavement spills mid-evening blue
to match the nuance of envied moods,
cool and calm above the stirring hurried furnace
sparked by red cigarette ends and
pouring disorder in a mannerly-fashioned disturbance
Slothy steam from the coffeehouse tucked in at 13^th
finds its way from the bottoms of cups up
through frothy boiling oceans to the shock of city atmosphere
Eyes try to trace the lines of winding smoke
while they dive through glowing mercurius furies
Without a handle on reality, gambles on the
snake-charmer’s honor to survive the
sweet mesmerizing blur are made and lost
with the fates of onlookers

Alone with his closed eyes and saxophone
stands a gently worn man
eyes hidden under his gently worn hat
Remorse and his festering soul proceed from coarse lips and metal holes
Unpredictable rhythm dancing around in sharp-edged prisms
caught and carved in starving sound

Lovely chaos crashing about like chimes on
waves that never make it past daybreak
When the final spin wins the sun’s graceful blush
made beautiful by the balance of hushed lilies

They are jewels
Lending quiet, splendid release
perfuming your golden-hued divinity

[2002]

In response to the Daily Prompt: The Golden Hour