Thursday, November 03, 2011

Plenitude

. . . when I spoke, the rooms replied with words
That seemed to bear the accent-mark of joy.
Enchanted hands appeared with olives, wine,
And plates of dusky fruit like none I'd seen.

Marly Youmans, Throne of Psyche


And so. Tricky and dangerous, to speak of plenitude,
when sober industrious folk are starving in the cold,
blaming themselves for rules broken or kept –

still we must, because there it is, the sweet unfolding,
of gifts unknown, undreamed of, the platters overflowing;
scented baths and servants nested in their shells,

awakening to service as butterflies
awaken to the sky, ready with mouth and fingers.
To say I did not earn this is to speak

a language they have never learned: their wide dark eyes
open into nights far deeper, and they rise from seas
that beat in arteries of Earth. Where they took shape

nickel and iron spurt like mercury.
There is nothing more dangerous than to receive
such gifts. Except refusing them.

7 comments:

christopher said...

One of your best, I think. Of course there are many of yours that are in my opinion "best".

marly youmans said...

http://thepalaceat2.blogspot.com/2011/11/plentitude.html

How lucky I am! Thank you, Dale.

Dale said...

(Last line's not quite right, is it? Too much slack. But enough for today.)

Wine and Words said...

To say I did not earn this is to speak

*sigh*

Funny, how silent our yapping mouths, until the final truth rights itself.

Beautiful.

Dale said...

Hey, thanks all! And W & W, welcome.

Jayne said...

:)

I've a copy of Opening the World in my hand, from Hadlow. (Be still my heart.) And I do like the maple trees out front, I do! Also glad for the two blank pages at the book's end, so I may take notes... or perhaps even doodle.

Dale said...

Aw, thanks! I love to think of you doodling in it!