"Poem for a Muse" by Manny Delgadillo

Poem for a Muse

Like the resplendent sunflower that shines its golden hue full dazzling,
Like the amazing trill of the sweetest most melodious bird,
Like the trenchant works of nature, perfectly carved, perfectly eroded
By time, by the winds and the elements: the symmetrical canyons and mountains, the
River beds and ocean ridges, the green steep hills and the smooth, elusive valleys;
Like the road that leads to all places and itself must be led to nowhere;
Like the sculpture carved by the iron-hand of the artist; the painting; the piano sonata; the sonnet,
Written over sweat and laborious blood;
To compare these things, the ephemeral, these illustrious things: to you; to
The intricate and perfect pattern of your sublime, subliminal smile;
To the eyes that above all speak like lances straight to the heart;
To the gestures, your laughter; to the grace of your movements like a ballerina;
And your being soft like vivid snow, soft and warm like a calming fire: beaming full radiant into
The sunshine of each everlasting day.