Sestina

I saw her at last, trodding the leaf-strewn path,
filling her skirts with berries ripened by the sun,
her dark tresses flowing behind her like a stormy river.
My eyes glistened with an unshed tear.
For, to take this Angel’s soul would deprive the earth of its greatest beauty,
and would fulfill a most treacherous design.

Forever etched in my memory is that day’s design.
My feet seemed to gallop across the wooded path.
Suddenly, she turned and I was a witness to her beauty.
Her intelligent, green eyes shone brighter than the sun,
her mouth gaped open, in the shape of a perfect tear.
and the ripe red berries fell into the gushing river.

The little golden carp seemed to jump out of that river,
her protection was their design.
They shed their rainbow-colored scales which were formed like a tear.
They blocked my path,
an army of fairies.
With a light more luminescent than the sun,
they moved gracefully and with an uncommon beauty.

The earth itself was enshrouded in their ethereal beauty.
Suddenly, the maiden jumped into the river.
I dove after her like the sinking sun,
to fulfill my Master’s evil design.
When I looked back over my shoulder, the fairies had disappeared from the path,
And I was just a lonesome tear.

Through the course of my life, my job has caused many to tear.
My Master seeks to subdue beauty,
and use it to lengthen her Path.
Little did she know that the torrentious river,
sought to aid nature in its design.
Upon all these occurrences smiled the sun.

The moon, friendly rival of the sun,
had deceived me, making me tear.
There was no design.
The girl had disappeared, taking with her life’s beauty.
Yet, life must continue, like a coursing river
cutting its own path.


The path that I have chosen is guided by my inner sun.
Memories rush like a river, causing my eyes to tear.
For the beauty of life has lost its design.