Burnished hopes

Hopes burnished with dreams

Not found

On the burgeoned stoops

Of men burnt from the lifeless smoke

Of broken expectations

Aspirations polished with a poignant smile

Unennunciated

The painted image of the madonna

In her arms a lost world pasted

On the faceless grin if soldiers

Desires briliant with longings

Unsatiated

By seductive banal attractions

The silhouette of eternal abstractions

Illuminate the beautific cheeks

Of children