Saturday, December 20, 2014

Advent Calender - Day 20

Today is something simple. A poem and a couple of pictures. The poem is "In Excelsis"  by Amy Lowell. We have been focused on Christmas romance over the past few days and somehow this spoke to me. The photos are by Kati Molin and Morgan Studio (licensed thru Shutterstock).



You -- you --
Your shadow is sunlight on a plate of silver;
Your footsteps, the seeding-place of lilies;
Your hands moving, a chime of bells across a windless air.
The movement of your hands is the long, golden running of light from a rising sun;
It is the hopping of birds upon a garden-path.
As the perfume of jonquils, you come forth in the morning.
Young horses are not more sudden than your thoughts,
Your words are bees about a pear-tree,
Your fancies are the gold-and-black striped wasps buzzing among red apples.
I drink your lips,
I eat the whiteness of your hands and feet.
My mouth is open,
As a new jar I am empty and open.
Like white water are you who fill the cup of my mouth,
Like a brook of water thronged with lilies.
You are frozen as the clouds,
You are far and sweet as the high clouds.
I dare to reach to you,
I dare to touch the rim of your brightness.
I leap beyond the winds,
I cry and shout,
For my throat is keen as is a sword
Sharpened on a hone of ivory.
My throat sings the joy of my eyes,
The rushing gladness of my love.
How has the rainbow fallen upon my heart?
How have I snared the seas to lie in my fingers
And caught the sky to be a cover for my head? How have you come to dwell with me,
Compassing me with the four circles of your mystic lightness,
So that I say "Glory! Glory!" and bow before you
As to a shrine?
Do I tease myself that morning is morning and a day after?
Do I think the air is a condescension,
The earth a politeness,
Heaven a boon deserving thanks?
So you -- air -- earth -- heaven --
I do not thank you,
I take you,
I live.
And those things which I say in consequence
Are rubies mortised in a gate of stone.

7 comments:

  1. This is why I know am not a writer. My mind isn't wired like this. But I am glad someone's was. A brilliant poem and so perfect for this time of year. Thank you for sharing, Josh.

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  2. Just what I needed to brighten a bad day. Thank you.

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  3. Thank you for sharing this. It is beautiful and perfect for the season. I'm feeling all mushy now. (How's that for poetry?)

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  4. A beautiful poem, Josh. Thank you. It reminds me to a poem by Agustin Garcia Calvo, "Libre te quiero" It is in Spanish, but I leave here a link in case you feel like reading it.
    http://antologiapoeticamultimedia.blogspot.com.es/2006/08/libre-te-quiero.html

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  5. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Josh.

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  6. That's powerful and beautiful. And sharing poems with friends is always delightful — Thank you for this one, Josh. It's new-to-me. :-)

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  7. Thank you for this beautiful poem!

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