Classic Poem

Here on the smooth white sand, by the blue water,
Sleek brown body and limbs of a sea god's daughter,
Powerful, indolent and sophisticated —
Studied simplicity of nakedness, decorated
With scarlet mouth and toes and pointed finger-tips,
The short white tunic drawn tight over breast and hips —
Small breast, strong thighs,
Anointed with perfumed oil,
Complete, in the sun she lies.

Yet there is a strange kinship
With a bedecked and powdered queen who played,
Lovely and indifferent, at being a dairy maid,
Nor heard the long low wake
Of thunder. There is little sound
In a world about to break.