A leaf alone, in Autumn moon and night,
In Winter turns to lantern, golden light;
A group of gulls in gossip, fog and ear,
Can rob the mind of solitude and fear;
An ocean breeze can often be retraced
A mile away on lips and tongue and taste;
A crowded street, a meadow, forest, swells
The nose the way a pillow does and tells;
A hand, a breath, a patch of sun, is such
Enchantment in the skin and mind and touch;
And all along the way the senses serve
As pathways to another through the nerve;
And all of this to reach across the shore
And in love find and bind the heart and core.