A certain sadness lingers
As do
I
Whenever I pass by
This broken fragment of former glory
On the shores of Mahu ‘ulepu.

Localized magnificence perhaps
In kama ‘aina minds
Or those lately moved by trades
Just in time
To see its grainy grandeur.

Not on scale to those gargantuans
That must have inspired the likes of Laozi.
There is that fairy bridge in Guangxi which I would see
And those monstrosities of brute strength among Utes
That surely served as sign to more extraordinary Joes.

Here
Among lunar lava
Stratified
Rarified
Lithified
Sand dunes once joined hands
Shielding those in search of
Sustenance
From
Sky
Sea
Soul

A sacred canopy with canyon basalt reredos
The hands of any holy person immersed in wave upon wave of purification rites.
I would have been cleansed there
Or offered something upon its altar
Beneath basilica dome:

A picnic
A prayer
A poem
A pause in pilgrimage.

Hardened masterpiece
Carved by the breath of God and birth waters
In the end
soft
As sand.

It did not seem fragile.
We never do.

Rational rhetoric serves its usual purpose
Nothing.
But I cannot help but ponder some investigative inquiry.
Was its demise
Natural occurrence?
Vandal’s will?
Time undenied?
Act of God?

A certain sadness lingers
As do
I
When I pass by

Still celebrating a sight once seen
Beholding beauty in brokenness
Letting Art
Be

Unfinished.





William Miller
Copyright 2012
First published on the Saint Julian Press, Guest Author pages in January 2012.