-1Beauty’s a Maze

Welcome to the world of beauty’s a maze, I’ll try not to set the trail ablaze,
As I travel the globe on wild forays, along narrow corridors and high archways,
Over cold hard pavements of concrete craze, long lost lands of halcyon days,
I pine for a moment of peace to gaze, upon distant horizons in the haze!

Chatting with boys by the locker betrays a magnetic attraction in a gaze,

That stays with me beyond the time, of fading memories of hallowed ways:
Sipping hot chocolate in Swiss chalets, acquiring strong taste of French cafes,
Wholly absorbed in Broadway plays, raring to join the Bolshoi ballets!

Shopping for things among displays, of haute couture and model sashays,
Beckoning through doors ready to praise, indulgence in a world that pays,
Private club members, with valets, chefs to pamper the finest gourmets,
Plate up by the banquet bouquets, immerse yourself in heavenly glaze!

Despite the disappointments and dismays, amid the noise of fracas and frays,
Lie fields of green and golden maize, steep high cliffs where sure goats graze,
Entries in journals, articles, essays, shades and shadows of whites and grays,
Storms of protest, yeas and nays, in calms of understanding god that prays!

Great halls of religion elaborate inlays, pause to take in and to appraise,

Views from the top by lofty stairways, buildings, bridges and cable stays,
Towering domes flying buttress splays, shapes of all colour form dizzy arrays,
Sketches, drawings, a painting portrays, thoughts and ideas, all that conveys!

Collections of images in mind’s eye liaise: gentle waves, fearsome melees,

Dreams and nightmares all in phase, candles on cakes celebrating birthdays!
Smiles and laughter are worldly ways, windows open to lovely gateways,
Join me now in a state of daze, the big picture of life is beauty’s a maze!

Roads less travelled devoid of cliches, a wonder of nature never decays,

Great coral reefs and deep blue bays, splashes of exhilarating ocean sprays,
Wash away horrors of war that raze, behind the sadness of orphans and strays,
Signs of hope in murky malaise, patience is virtue, let me rephrase:

[Fade out last stanza]

Welcome to the world of beauty’s a maze, I’ll try not to set the trail ablaze,
As I travel the globe on wild forays, along narrow corridors and high archways,
Over cold hard pavements of concrete craze, long lost lands of halcyon days,
I pine for a moment of peace to gaze, upon distant horizons in the haze!

Words by Arturo Tora (1 Feb. 2010)