ADOLESCENCE

Childlike still, we gaze at fleeting fairy thoughts,

Childlike still, we cast pale shadows in the air—

Civilized imaginations—weakling sparks

That we’ve folded fast in words—and buried there.

Look: A school of doves on silver-frosted wings

Hold the sunshine for a moment as they fly,

Toss a vagrant shaft of sunbeams in the air

As they float across a shining turquoise sky.

For a moment there’s the glitter of their wings ...

Just a moment ... then the sunbeam melts away

And the happy brightness of the turquoise sky

Has faded, like their silver wings, to grey.