In the rat’s mouth
of wealth
one learns to accept
opulence
as a perk of life
dazed by the depth
and breadth of it
spread on the hyaline
sea sparkle & sky
cluttered with yachts
cutting cream swaths
in a diamond day
without flaw
Everyone is rich
or ought to be
crowned with the plenitude
of bloom & palm
the visionary flesh
of the earth Ponce
de León found so
elusive the fountain
of summer singing
in the blood bright
paeans of praise
for the majestic
lavish price of all life
— From the November 25, 2013, issue of National Review.