Fancy and the Poet

Susanna Moodie

Poet—

Enchanting spirit!—at thy votive shrine

I lowly bend a simple wreath to twine;

O Come from the ideal world and fling

Thy airy fingers o’er my rugged string;

Sweep the dark chords of thought and give to earth

The thrilling song that tells thy heavenly birth—

Fancy—

Happiness when from earth she fled

I passed on her heavenward flight—

“Take this crown,” the spirit said

“Of heaven’s own golden light—

To the sons of sorrow the token give,

And bid them follow my steps and live!”—

I took the crown from the snowy hand,

It flashed like a living star;

I turned this dark earth to a fairy land

When I hither drive my car;

But I placed the crown round my tresses bright,

And man only saw its reflected light—

Many a lovely dream I’ve given,

And many a song divine;

But never!—oh never—that gift of heaven

Shall mortals temples twine—

Hope and love in the circlet glow!

’Tis all too bright for a world of woe—

Poet—

Hist—Beautiful spirit!—why silent so soon?

My ear drinks each word of thy magical tune;

My lyre owns thy touch—and its tremulous strings

Vibrate beneath the soft play of thy wings;

Resume thy sweet lay, and reveal, ere we part

Thy home lovely spirit—and say what thou art?”—

Fancy—

The gleam of a star thou cans’t not see—

Of an eye ’neath its sleeping lid,

The sound of a far off melody

The voice of a stream that’s hid;

Such must I still remain to thee

A wonder and a mystery!—

I live in the poet’s dream

I flash on the painter’s eye;

I dwell in the moon’s pale beam,

In the depths of the star lit sky;

I traverse the earth, the air, the main,

And bind young hearts in my magic chain—

I float on the fleecy cloud

My voice is in ev’ry breeze;

I speak in the tempest loud,

In the sigh of the waving trees—

To the sons of earth—in a mystic tone,

I tell of a world more bright than their own!—

565

Rating:

Comment form:

Welcome to your day of sanity! Come in and close the door it will likely lock behind you and you will be home alone waste disposal will take care of your needs : at long last undisturbed phenomena without the heavy metal background of the street will be yours for observation and response : do you have visions? do you think? Your mouth do you open it for more than medication? I should know I know that I should know : we’ve watched centuries erode the fortress drain the moat the poet’s clumsy beast has reached its home and prey we wither  in the gridlock of our power only the guns remain and are in use pure accident is beauty to be glimpsed your trembling only further clouds your sight I in my home you in your other place harmonize  the fading anthem of an age the cracked bell of our liberty keeps time a penny for the corpse you left behind keep on recycling all that you have heard before call it a double bind much like the dead bolt that locked the door that keeps you safe and sane : ho — hum — harry who? oh that’s just a phrase found in a time capsule capped and sealed and shot up in the air : no I cannot tell you where it fell to earth that page was torn out years ago it’s chance that we have a fragment of that language left : do your archaeology before a mirror the canyons and the barren plains are clear but where to dig for a ruined golden age a ﬁction we were served with breakfast ﬂakes say have you forgot this day of sanity? No problem the heavy key was thrown away as soon as the door was closed and locked you’re safe : some day the asylum may be torn down to make way for a palace of the mad it does not follow that anything will change : choose your executioner by lot almost  everyone is trained and competent there are different schools of course check out degrees fees can become an issue of your choice and some may be in service or abroad as usual nothing’s simple it’s all a part of the grand unraveling that must take place before the new line can be introduced : prepare now don’t be shocked when the music starts the year’s fashions may feature pins and nails.

Comment form:

Similar Poems: