Like a painter’s palette, it’s the wondrous bursts of color bathing flower petals in sensual shades,

igniting a craving for more,

yet quenching a thirst for rich pigmentation never found in manmade color swatches

Rain swathing my skin so desperately dry, drinking in droplets,

while sloshing through warm puddles pooling on pavement,

just moments ago seared by the sun

The noise of sailboat halyards clattering in summer winds against their metal masts,

ropes and lines signaling their warning bells of approaching thunderheads building in the east 

Sea foam rushing in, frothing, subsiding,

thousands of bubbles delicate as lace catching the sun in brief fragments of time,

then dissipating like the sound of a thousand tiny glass beads falling

Pressing my feet deep into sugary sand after arduous long days,

my weary body regaining strength from warmth of these shores,

offering restoration with every step

Gardenias white as wedding dresses,

extravagantly displaying their blooms with abundance like snowflakes,

no two alike,

yet their luxurious sweet scent alluring my longing for Parisian perfume

It’s first glimpses of morning color, quietly seeping onto the horizon,

awakening my worn soul like sipping coffee during wee hours,

pale peaches,

  oranges,

pinks dramatically bursting forth 

Palm leaf shadows, shade, and coconut rum,

the sun caressing each green frond gently as a lover exploring each inch of skin,

its branches sighing with relief, rustling, waving in hot breaths of wind

Luscious abundant rain showers, nurturing my skin back to life,

soaking through, saturating,

welcoming my presence beneath skies above,

with the fragrance of wet dock wood rising from beneath

It’s the play of crisp white sunlight in the swimming pool,

light tossing and squiggling like a child’s drawing,

dancing to an aqua colored waltz with every movement

   
Beads of rain adorning brackish waters like jewels and rings,

circular ripples flitting from each droplet,

“Hush,” it says to my racing mind

This is the Florida I know, the restoration of threadbare heartstrings,

renewed hopes,

its sticky healing balm reviving an aching soul,

breathing life,

to make all things new again,

                             
Drink in deep.