Sunlight was to blame for
crystals plastered all over the placid sea.

Actually, the sea must share in the blame
for it moved subtly to catch the light to help in this deception.
The air was not crisp
but its freshness could breathe life into a corpse.

Gulls soaring above the mast mock me for
thinking they were

Elegant albatrosses.
A second look revealed them to be
sea cows.

Curse them, curse me.

I should recognize deceit by now like a sailor
Preparing for a storm on a clear, tranquil day.

The memory of my time with Sage City
slithers in.

Young and

Innocent, I went in.

Someone else emerged.

A myriad of menacing mongrels lived there.
Treachery, lies, and betrayal were pillars of the society.

Still, Sage City’s beauty made one question their own
Standard of beauty.

How? This is a question you must mix with your own answer
To find a resolution. Drink the solution slow
So it does not kill you in the process.

It drowned in its own filth Sage City did.
Its own pillars the culprit and
The only other survivors.

Pearls, it looks more like pearls are scattered in the sea.

 

Joseph Sasu, Jr., a member of the Capitol Honors College, is majoring in Information Sciences and Technology. He is from Laurel, MD, just outside of Washington, DC. He has had work published in The Burg.