Sonnet Xiii – Fine Petal

Fine petal, eloquent summer's leaflet,
Fine nature's art, fluent magnet.
Ever smiling, child of joy.
Articulate supportive fickle boy.
Ever shining, ever smiling,
Ever trusted, twice beguiling.
What are all thy trusted treasures?
Fickle sorrows, transient pleasures?

Like a treasure from a sunken pirate wreck,
Like a wealthy woman's neck.
Ground soffione, Mediterranean's dew.
Misty taste of moonshine, butterfly that flew.
The shepherd for fodder follows not the sheep:
O hear beauty is only skin deep.