Finis Coronat Opus

To battle! Forward, soldiers, on We march to bloody day; Up! Lest they see us ‘ere the dawn’s  Light dim our end betray. To battle! Yea, they say the fight,  Drawn long o’er months and years, Must, after sunset’s fading light, Be lost in bitter tears. To battle! On, and fear no shade, Nor sword, nor archer’s dart; Our orders clear our Captain gave, So rally, men; take heart! To battle! Go, and seize the flag Off yonder rampart, there! No longer shall its pennant drag Upon the sacred air! To battle! Take the fortress strong! And press yet onward far,  ‘Til battle’s won, and field belongs To Him Who bears our scars.

Away, away! Fly far, my thoughts, from this low plane, Ascend to heav’ns’ bright sky beyond, Where burns eternal day. Away, away! Fair dreams of past, of yet to come, That in my head stay trapped within; Fly forth, from shadows dim. Away, away! My feet must fly, and scarcely meet The ground they formerly had trod; How swift they now will be! Away, away! The thoughts and dreams reach on and on; And I will follow where they lead, Where westward sinks the sun. Photograph taken from the Griffith Observatory overlook

The coastline gleams, a golden strand Against the black of earth at night, And flick’ring lights upon the land  Mark towers tall, reflections bright. The moonlight’s rays’ reflections shine In silver shivers on the bay; A glist’ning path, it upward climbs Far up into the starry sky. Now wends my way o’er desert land, Pitch black, as sunlit rays do hide And beat no more upon the sand Until the dawn of morning tide. But back, once more, my gaze will turn And look upon the coastline fair. My heart must ever beat, and yearn, To breathe again that western air. Photo of Los Angeles from the air, over the water.

Upon a mountain peak I stand, My gaze a city meets; Far in the distance, o’er the land Its glist’ning towers gleam. Up from the valley, sharp they rise To meet the clouds above, Or shade beneath from heat so dry Like ancient desert grove. And as the day fades westward on,  The spires begin to shine; Reflecting radiance of the sun And blinding timid eye. We trav’lers stand amazed at such Display of steel and stone;  But lovely can the view be; look! Before the day is gone. Photo of Los Angeles, CA from The Getty Center

In depths below, ‘Neath cresting waves’ White foam on peaks of blue, Where sunlight’s glow In bright midday Is lost in darkest hue: In depths below, In darkness deep, Concealed beneath the tide, The ebb and flow Of churning sea Marks passage swift of time. In depths below, Such creatures sleep That daylight broad would spurn; The steady flow Of currents deep About the corals churn. In depths below Lie bones of ships, Their masts all splintered, gone; The rigging old, With currents, list, No more the sails to haul. In depths below, Where few have been, A world most foreign dwells; So little known, Yet how it teems Beneath the ocean swells. Photo taken at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA