Then she walked away, like Helen of Troy turning her back on Attica. A gust of warm wind blew newspapers along the boulevard into the sky. The light was orange and bleeding out of the clouds in the west, the horizon darkening, the waves crashing on the beach just the other side of Seawall Boulevard, the palm trees rattling dryly in the wind. I could smell the salt and the seaweed and the tiny shellfish that had dried on the beach, like the smell of birth. I
The passage depicts a vivid scene where a woman walks away, likened to Helen of Troy, suggesting beauty and allure. The warm wind picks up newspapers, and the atmosphere is charged with an orange glow as the day transitions into evening. The imagery of darkening horizons and crashing waves evokes a powerful sense of nature’s presence. Palm trees rustling adds to the sensory experience, creating a juxtaposition of beauty and harshness.
The narrator is enveloped by the smells of the ocean, including salt, seaweed, and dried shellfish, reminiscent of the origins of life. This sensory detail highlights a deep connection to the environment and evokes feelings of nostalgia. Through the descriptions, there is a sense of loss and longing, underscoring the fleeting nature of beauty and moments in life, which is a central theme in Burke’s writing.
