Boats on the lake sang hymns of distant hum;

Homage to warm winds, as the radiant fall

Raised up its descant, muted, almost dumb,

But yet precise. A melancholy call

In minor key, it added slant to sum

Of summer’s energies. I loved it all –

Fast traffic on the blazing, tidemarked beach

Soon seared my feet; placed summer within reach.

A purple scent rose up from wine-soaked ground,

As grapes, like moments, split and burst apart.

Decisions carved from stone fell all around,

While bees in every flower left a dart.

Delphinium was abject, blue. A cloud

Complained the passing breeze was much too loud.

— From the January 27, 2013, issue of national review.