The Bay of Naples

A jagged monolith carved by the ages
rises from the sea
framed against the setting sun like a grotesque creature
of the deep
scarred by the endless passage of time.
It rears its head, preparing to plunge
back into the watery darkness
from which it came.
Away from the earthen hues
of sandstone
shrubs
and soft moss.

The water churns in anticipation
drawing back
lifting
and then crashing in upon itself
sending blue fingers crawling
up the stone
that crumble into white obscurity.

So soft are the heavens
resting peacefully over the sea.
A golden glow of sun
wrapped in a rose hued halo
and ragged cotton clouds strewn across
a silken sky.
What celestial calm it holds.

And yet
like an image in a twisted mirror
a single great cloud has built slowly
and is now poised like a wave
at the top of its rise
balanced upon the brink of existence
before it crashes down
and melts away

Two worlds
so very different
And at the same time
each holding a bent reflection
of the other.