Romance
i painted the colors that awaken your eye
apple
green orange and lemon
by the
grey sundial in the garden
under the gables
those turrets flying silken banners
of a long bodied dragon
a proud white swan
on the
morning of the tournament
i surrounded you with images
captured
you in the colors of nakedness
& love...
on sheltered moss
a green lea by an inland lagoon
where bushes grew unkempt over disused
paths
sea weed smelt its way to them over the sand dunes
past the
signs cotton caught on the briars
a single
battered shoe through which grass had thrust
the many
small feet memories of the seaside
know that this
sea is of your mythology
& has not been called sea by
your gods
know the words
of your lore-master for all things
& your life will not lack
still main is the dark deep
eel-home & sailor's plain
now steep
slopes foam over shoals
by sheltered moss lies
a sweet water
charm
once a kiss caught my warbling
tongue
taught it an
old song
told me of a
deep erotic note with which to blend
to flavor to
serve my songs
water coming in
from sea
subtle
camouflage of tiger and deer
protective dark
resting time spent in the shade of trees
my songs
return to the forest
where there is
shelter from rain
dry wood no
longer needed by trees
we may walk
with honor along
those paths
at
nightfall sleep amongst gods
but only look
we are separate
our eyes may perceive the rainbow
the
great archway of our gods
but we
are apart
they have left us
& the rain
falling upon us
our
mouth full of locusts,
full of green
they have left us
alone
walking with our rain
each stride taking us north
to
the north
& the deep warmth
of our earth
in our future
Dick Russell
from Wolfprints, 1971
Workshop Press, London
Workshop Press, London
No comments:
Post a Comment