Annie's Smile

I remember her hair shining like gold,
bright and lustrous as the sun
that glowed on the waves
where she stood, naked,
and it seemed to me that it was her smile
that lit the beach that day.

And yes, I know I don't own her,
but I owned that moment,
and in that moment her smile was mine.
She smiled for me.
Not for those strangers on the sand,
but for me alone.

It was enough that her smile was mine.
The waves whispering against her thighs
might have envied me that.
It was not her body I meant to hoard
but that one smile,
that singular moment of forever.

The waves will outlast my envy,
and the sands my indignation
at the hastening of the seasons.
December will cover all of July's dreams
in rime, and while I wait for Spring
Annie will stand at the ocean's edge

forever.