The scent of floral vegetation

August 4, 2000  (I was 55)

The scent of floral vegetation

that had hung in warm morning air

is dissipated by the ocean breeze

that also chases remnant cloud tissue

up the slope toward Mauna Loa

The laps of relaxing repetition lull

the senses into timelessness

Billfish Tournament boats pace the sea alleys

First the pair of magpie then the doves

make their rounds on the lawn

Cheryl does her languid morning crawl

flick plash forth and back across the pool

Hands of articulate palms practice

delicate gesture and reflective hula

both on the air and over the water

The charter dive boat bobs off the point

Swimmers join the flight circles of mantas

to feel the proximate terror of their mass

and the jolt of awareness

to perceive the self within the greater realm

The quiet pulse of surf plays the lava shore

while summer leaves to become summer

So goes the tropical pattern in days

of here and there over and under

until from the mountain the thunder