By the time the morning arrived, the day was already gone. The first hint of early light indicating that what remained were long hours of impenetrable dolor which would remain shrouded in shadows even as the strong sun burned overhead. With nothing left to be sorry for and no time left for savoring the sweet smells that still lingered in the air like spring's matins mist, the day passed quickly and unapologetically.

Moments that days before seemed capable of lasting an eternity, by providing the mind and body with generous amounts of tangible and emotional sustenance, now have been archived into a series of solitary visual mementos and auditory fragments.

Bodies nestled quietly. Each contact of skin fresh and new and capable of carving deeply into the imagination. Jazz music drifting in over wrinkled sheets as musky smells of sweat and olive oil waft up from the exposed contours of intertwined limbs.

A moment captured from time. Now robbed of context, these archived senses will fade just as surely as the light of day will drain out through the western horizon. And with each new rising sun, the blazing light heaps new experiences upon the old, as its harsh rays fade the successive layers until the foundation of memories begins to resemble a massive bleached out structure; supporting the colorful fragrant flower petals that accumulate daily - only to become the whitewashed support for so many beautiful memories to come.

And though each day beckons be onward with promise of new passion and joy, each day I try to stop the cycle, so as to capture one sweet moment and savor it forever. I never tire of the futility, not do I revel with amazement at the next day's beauty which seems to eclipse the magnificence of the previous moment that I had clung to so desperately - as if the splendor had to be savored out of fear that it would be the last moment of pure joy I would ever experience.

Each day I surrender my heart to a new set of circumstances. And each day the pain of these fleeting moments receives the salve of new love, and new wonders, as my life ripens to succulent sweetness.