Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Phoenician Sailor
He is the first I look for in the darkness
among the swarming rays of light,
teeming with the glistening shoals of star
fish patterns, bright and dim yet he stands
alone. I have watched him stride
through late autumn evenings,
arms raised in exultation, embracing
the universe or simply jumping
for joy until winter numbed me
into those lightless airless spaces inside.
Have you never wondered
where the ancients found
the shape of speech? Look up.
Orion, the beautiful Phoenician
sailor steering the night toward
some unforeseen end, watching
over all the rest with a glittering
sword at his belt,
the mystery of language
in his visage as he herds the bright
patterns of our words. As quiet
as death yet beautiful
as only love can be.
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3 comments:
Oh my. That first stanza is magic. I lost it in the rest though. Not that the rest is bad, not at all, it just lacks the beauty of the first part.and I don't quite understand how language fits into it.
I really enjoyed this one... Orion is my favorite constellation.
The wrd usage has a lovely flow and the whole thing painted a very vivid image of the night sky... it felt like an view of the night sky from a beach somewhere, was that intentional?
This actually made total sense to me. However you gave yourselves away in the first stansa.
Great piece.
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