I feel no pebbles in the sand
The sky is like the sea, azure
Warm and one with us
With just a little breeze.
Some German kids are building forts
The evening tide will take,
I’d rather dam the ocean than
See them wash away.
Or make them stand the ages
On firmer, higher ground
A perfect civilization
A perfect thousand years.
I limn this justice of my own
Before the perfect vast
Before the hordes cut summer down
For Ilya Ehrenburg.