Dreaming on the Island of Burano

Burnt reds like radishes.
Icy, unearthly blues.
Tans, bright as a sand beach
In sunlight.  Homes.  To his
Mind's eye, the olives shone,
Shades of the trees.  One peach,
Between two pinks, alone,
Lifted her out of her shoes.

Daydreaming, they forgot
Themselves, their distant, soon
To split up house, that ache
Now dully chronic.  Not
For long, since love is cruel
(Their firm faith no dreams could shake)—
At best, a costume jewel
Set in a salt lagoon.

Charles Hughes is a tutor at St. Leonard's House in Chicago and a retired lawyer. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in America, Anglican Theological Review, Comstock Review, Iron Horse Literary Review, Verse Wisconsin, Measure, Sewanee Theological Review, and other publications.  He lives in the Chicago area with his wife.