Queen of the Bay

From San Francisco

to the Marin shores,

bridging sunrise and sunset,

she spans the channel

with one leap.

Shy on foggy days

she hides within a misty veil

and to an early Peeping Tom

uncovers her secret charms.

My gaze idles about

her dreamlike silhouette

as she gently lifts her veil.

Suddenly I am awed.

Her shoulders brush the heavens,

her thighs bathe in the ocean below.

Arms outstretched

she clasps the lands together.

My gaze wanders between her limbs.

I sigh and ponder

upon how many loved ones

she watched arrive or bid adieu

knighting all passing sailors.

Indeed a Queen she is.

Yet how many she threw away.

An Ogress she can be.

She takes her yearly toll

of human sacrifices

standing on any cold evening

-all red-

reminding the innocent by-passer

of her own eternal bondage

to the shores she binds.

~~~

Alex Nodopaka Apr©1987

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