“But the finest visual treats were those furthest removed from the travelers’ point of vantage. In the distance, shimmering in that soft, other-worldly light which dusk sometimes brings, gleaming in palest silver and chastened white, loomed a vast temple structure part celestial and part chthonic: a building of rock reminiscent of Karnak, Angkor Wat, or […]
Continue reading“They talked all night, the hours passing unnoticed. In the morning, they knew they were in love. Hand in hand they walked out to the shore to watch the sunrise. The lemon fireball spread sky and sea with melting orange sorbet. Walking in the trees that lined the beach, they embraced. As they joined together, […]
Continue reading“Genuine beauty, though, transcends physical symmetry. A woman of purely physical beauty, the yearned-for, imitated, and drooled-over cover girl, that paragon of modern society’s hypnotic captivation by the perfect bone structure of the utterly inane, is attractive, but only to the sense of touch. Her body entices a man’s fingers and other appendages to contact […]
Continue reading“The perfect beauty of his Oneness with everything: of sitting merged with the ocean that pulsed with his heartbeat; of melting into the sand, undifferentiated from it; of gazing at the stars while simultaneously staring down from them—gave way to the taste of bittersweetness, the bittersweetness of mortal life itself, of its exquisite, fragile joys […]
Continue reading“The potent, muskiness of the wisteria smelled like the perfume of a woman he could no longer have. The lighter, lily-of-the-valley fragrance of the forsythia recalled innocence long lost. Sturdy, dimpled, violaceous blooms of magnolia reminded him of the youthful exuberance of Mayfield Street and the languor of the Deep South, all of which states […]
Continue reading“The profusion of shapes, textures, and colors of flowers stunned the observer’s senses. The perfumes floating on the breeze, ranging from light and sweet to dense and rich, caused him to momentarily fall in love with life. The grounds might have been a many-acred maternity ward: new life cried forth from swards, walls, trees, bushes, […]
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