The palm at the end of the mind, beyond the last thought, rises in the bronze distance. A gold feathered bird sings in the palm, without human meaning, without human feeling, a foreign song. You know then that it is not the reason that makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine. The palm stands on the edge of space. The wind moves slowly in the branches. The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Incantation of the First Order

Listen, no one signed up for this lullaby.  No bleeped sheep or rosebuds or twitching stars  will diminish the fear or save you from waking 

into the same day you dreamed of leavingmockingbird on back order, morning bells stuck on snoozeso you might as well  

get up and at it, pestilence be damned.  Peril and risk having become relative, I’ll try to couch this in positive terms:

Never! is the word of last resorts,  Always! the fanatic’s rallying cry.  To those inclined toward kindness, I say

Come out of your houses drumming. All others,  beware: I have discarded my smile but not my teeth.

--Rita Dove

No comments:

Post a Comment