Azure

"Azure" is from the Persian word

For lapis lazuli, a semi-precious

Stone that once was precious, though

Azure's another matter - what would

We do without a way to bring to mind

The warmth of southern currents

And that early slant of cloudless sun

That turn the sea the color of the sky?

"Cerulean" is beautiful, but lacks

That hint of ancient, orient luxury -

Of Helen bathing or of pharoahs' tombs,

Of ornamented flutes and heavy rings -

One finds in Ravel and Valery:

Azure, its cool glow and sheen

Revealing to the ready eye

The pure, blinding, terrible

Intensity of acetylene.