Capriccio

Tess, dry your tears. She said, It's a tanager! He said, No. it's two! The young poodle plunges his whole head into the rose garden fountain, anxious for water. No wonder you're in pain. In Paris, this July, the sun was still out at ten pm. I checked my watch, Still light! In Paris! At the top of the center statue of the rose garden fountain a naked boy, like one of Prospero's spirits, stands steadily on a dolphin's head. The anxious water slips out of the dolphin's mouth, cooling the air creatures breathe. The boy spirit dances on one foot with complete confidence, four others look up and smile. The Sufi with a hooked cane declares liberation without effort, promises the quotidian itself is redemption. Oh, the music last night! The book of eighties photographs last night. The moon last night, shining alone, before the stars. Are you in pain again? or yet again? I want to be sensitive, I want to be or not to be. He will not accept wonder. It's not too late. That's what I've been saying all along. No wonder you're in pain. Do fast walkers make fast talkers? She finally left him. How long it will last I do not know. I know the difference between sun and light. I want all of the sun today to tan my body. The children run ahead of the adults, talking about their crowded lives. No wonder they're in pain. A pilgrim in a white shirt and black tie tilts his head and preaches the light of Jesus. It is too late. It's a time of wonder. A woman closes her journal and leans forward. There are roses everywhere in a business suit dreams of the woman waiting in his journal. It's never too late. It's enough to make the sun shine everyday. A runner with earphones assures us it will rain. He backed him until when? The bitter end? There are promises everywhere. That's what the light itself means. Their faces are extinguished by the noon sun, but the colors of red, yellow, blue, green, white itself can only be seen by a steady eye. No wonder this day is blessed. The readiness is all. Lake Harriet - July Afternoon