and again I whispered: some morning the resurrection will come,
dawn's dew will glisten like trees in spring, / the sea will be born
again, / and the waves will again fling forth Aphrodite.

In golden sandals Venus flows like mist up Route 33 from the sea,
slipping past small towns, scattered homes, and signs: Johnny
Cash Lived Here, a black-clad ghost who "Showed the clouds
how to cover up a clear blue sky."

Some gifts for the Goddess: a pair of slightly worn sandals;
  Wilson tennis ball; an empty bottle of 7Up; candle holder
    with wax residue; two dried-out oranges; two acorns;
         a small stone cast as the shell of a turtle etched
                            with oracles burning for an answer.

These are not lofty points as living fossils that have changed little for
hundreds of millions of years—have actually been evolving faster than
younger groups of plants, like conifers and flowering plants. Plants are
not just related to one another. They’re also related to us animals, fungi,
bacteria, and all other living things, where Venus’ shadow stands still
as a rabbit waiting for us to disappear.