The Beginning of Memory
“This is what I believe: That I am I. That my soul is a dark forest. That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest. That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back. That I must have the courage to let them come and go. That I will never let mankind put anything over me, but that I will try always to recognize and submit to the gods in me and the gods in other men and women. There is my creed.”
(D.H. Lawrence)
"The Beginning of Memory"
Wouldst thou reconcile thy fate
with the turn of a card?
Sweet child doest thou tempt all the Gods
to "Lost Woods",
beckon to thee the Three Moirae,
to question perchance your dreams
spin them gold thread from reel?
Or to romance Court Jesters,
leading them freedom fluttering
**** to the Wind,
a kiss to be sealed?
What beckoned you here in the first instance,
a whim of the heart?
Or perchance to hunt for an intriguing tonic
to tear it apart?
Wouldst thou be seeking the words for a book
carried by other Blue Crying Larks?
Twouldst seem, thou art consumed by
overpowering memories
of some wretched cursed pox
of a dream from thy past.
But time is bleeding into days waning fast,
life’s to be seized to be blunt
Plundering, efflorescence for Kings
to pin them with blessed Purple Hearts
Consorting with legions of temporal angels
to tarry and gander a golden egg pass
Perhaps it is best to seek guidance
from Shakesperian Masters at last
How would I compare
a love joy kind of Sonnet
to better unfurl their Venetian masks,
to a frolicking Midsummer feast in the dark woods
e’er to be lost in the maze?
Is this pure folly or reckless courage ablaze?
"Tut-tut" from the pulpit, "today’s not the day…"
Sigh,“So long as men can breathe and eyes can see,
long live this and this gives life to thee”
So tarry not too long here my Palimpsest Dreamer
My embrocation to you, Deus Ex Machina
(Lovejoy-Burton/Jan 2018)
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA9q6uwcBio
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