Anchored

Into the slip

with anchor dropped,

our rocking sea lullaby, paused.

Onto shore

of a tiny seaside town,

we walk the pale and dusty streets.

Sunlight intensifies

makes colors fluorescent

under its Mediterranean heat lamp. Time slows

to a languidly drunk exploration,

hand in hand,

of the dusty nooks

and vistas of glittering ocean,

until night falls,

and we return

to our watery cocoon.

Painting: View of Collioure, Henri Matisse, 1905