She Brought Cancun to It’s Knees
by Gjekë Marinaj
(Honorable Mention • Poetry)

Aphrodite, who is like only Aphrodite,
Dressed in the sheerest silk of the moon,
Stepped out of the lap of night into Cancun.

When the white sand
Hugged her footprints to its breast,
Dolphins sang in a higher key,
Sharks took to pulling out each other’s teeth,
Waves held their breaths.

The moment they saw her,
The sky became a green countryside,
Shores angled their shoulders to her shape.
The earth perspired a thin rain
Bouquets of flowers blossomed from her breast.

Her beauty brought Cancun to its knees,
The faces of the white waves blushed crimson,
The horizon burned like red-hot embers
The sun, as if drunk, shook out its rays.

Aphrodite wrung out the blue velvet face of the sea And hung it flapping out to dry between her smiling eyes, Then waved Cancun an innocent goodbye And lightly leaped into the horizon’s flaming arms.

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