No, Lavender

The light is luscious now, at dusk.

Lilac – no, lavender,

rendering everything it touches

flawless.

Even the scrubby uninviting island offshore

looks seductive just about now each day,

its parched terrain and jagged lava rock

softening for a moment,

airbrushed, sleek,

beckoning,

under the forgiving light.

And there’s the lure of this place

that lies hard by the sea —

hurricane-ravaged these days, staggering to its feet,

yet still with the power to transport,

to transform.

We arrive world-weary, jaded,

resigned,

offer ourselves up,

then wait,

as it returns us —

inexorably —

to our best selves:

At least for a time.

Double Bay, Eleuthera

November,2004.