On One Such Moonless Night
a poem
i.
All wren-song breaks upon me like the spells
enchantresses
will weave. Disguising beauty, rhyming veils
the tragedy of tales
about brave men who sought to bless
the earth by strength of arms. By day, the song
of curséd birds
illuminates a maiden, wearing a ring
one of the devil's throng
has coiled round her with untrue words.
Night falls, and oceanic darkness paints
the landscape black.
Above are sapphire, emerald, golden glints,
yet bone-deep blindness taints
the view. One only sees his lack.ii.
On one such moonless night, I raised my eyes
to mark the coal-breathed beast
whose head, resting upon a virgin's thighs,
obscured my sight
to virtues I'd once held but lost.
Hovering in that dark celestial tent,
the Dog Star loped
and shook and shed profusely light that sent
down flickering hues. As Advent's
lights proclaim a king long-hoped-for,
the Dog Star's light described a crown of pine,
holly, and citrus fruit
whose rind is solstice cold yet warms the one
who eats alone.
The pitch of night became a livid blue.
The creature on the virgin's lap was bound,
and with a stolen page
of Scripture, I descaled that snake, defined
a circle round
its neck, and scribed the date this age
would end. Once pocketed, those scales like coins
shifted and clinked
with every step. I fled to enjoy my gains,
but I could not. The wrens
sang bitter songs; all I still lacked
stretched before me in tritone intervals,
a melody
that I could not resolve with serpent scales;
beyond the ocean's hills,
beyond the sun, eternity.


So many layers in this. I love it. I’m not sure I’ve grasped all its nuances but it is so rich.
Really nice Dan. It reminds me of Vaughan's "The World," something of the best metaphysicals. The dramatic and narrative elements ground it, leads us through the lofty imagery and significance.