if anyone were to ask was there a time when the black umbrellas folded and the reign ended; the crows again flew, stark against the Summer sun; the scent of roses threw their stain along the tendrils of the wind; and the quiet of a day no longer stretched itself, yawning like a wound - if anyone were to ask when was the moment that gave beat to the measure; what drove the cloud from the lining; which dog ate the marrow, warm and quivering, from the heart of the bone; how gracefully the slumbering giant rolled away from the dew of morning - if anyone were to ask what changed it all my response would be it happened as he listened to the unspoken; honored an unshed tear; gave loft to the gauze of an airless dream; held an empty hand until it grasped everything - if anyone were to ask I’d have to say these things became fluid as effortlessly and unremarked as the wink of an eye that is the color of the Aegean Sea