Still. Beautiful

Alex went visiting a friend on her island, and she loves the view from his deck. She wrote:

Still. Beautiful.

A friend of ours
on the north end
of the island
enjoys this sight
each time he walks
in his front door,
as do I
each time I visit.

The view
from his deck
two evenings ago:
was an archipelagenous melange,
I love making up words),
of boundary water humps
ruled by the U.S.
and British Columbia,
in theory,
and by the glaciers
of yore
in fact.

Even
on an overcast day,
the serenity
is unmatched.
Perhaps,
especially
on one.

Alex Shapiro June 2008

Her accompanying picture for this reflection was lovely, as was her musical selection, Evensong "Nunc Dimittis", 1:44 of snippet from a 17 minute suite she composed in 1999. She had written about it,"It is a pensive lullaby which blossoms into contenment and inner light." I responded to the icon and the music thusly:

The View

Twilight gathers
around the edges
of gray on gray,
as the waves
turned to glass,
and stiletto slits
pierced the clouds
like giant rips
in the cumulus fabric
of the sky;
with several dark silhouettes
of nearby islands
stood in quiet clumps
to catch your eye,
as you enjoyed
drinks on the deck;
while barely audible
a distant flute
trills on the wind,
signaling adieu
to the day.

Glenn Buttkus June 2008