To keep alive in loveliness my faith

Her face showed freshness of a fecund lea, Inviting eyes lured me then to explore, Her bosom conveyed warmth that was friendly, Lighthouse-like beckoning to come ashore. Each tiny cell of her anatomy, Derided by the wise as mortal flesh, And deemed Maya, if not an enemy, Posed, why such rare beauty be scorched to ash. Let all the wisdom warn of beauty’s blight, I still in life’s splendid things would believe, Let all keep philosophy’s vague delight, I fall for beauty’s charm, let it deceive, And love to kiss its lowly dust on death To keep alive in loveliness my faith. ____________________ Sonnet | 01.04.2014, revised March 2025 | Note: Beauty is only skin deep, and if one were to scrape a shade below (forget the sub atomic levels), the scene could be quite nauseating. Beware of beauty’s blight, old wisdom says. It is all illusive Maya. This sonnet nevertheless says: let me keep my illusion and faith in loveliness.