Drying Sails

After the driving mists of the sea comes the beneficent sun to the heavy cargo boats of the Adriatic. Then they spread their sails of a light brick-red and yellow till they flutter in the breeze like the wings of butterflies. Then they float like gulls on the transparent blue of the bay. Then the changing rose of their sails is repeated in the fleeting rose of the horizon. And then the painter from California sees them and is happy, for he has found a picture for his portfolio. The loveliness of the moment is recorded for all time, it is yours and mine no less than the artist’s.