|
Obscured by Clouds A man gazes at the trees, and trembling speaks, "No birds are singing today- Why has night descended for me?" Obscured by clouds is his light. A man looks to the sky and whispers, "Hell is only darker than this- I have no wishes." Obscured by clouds is his rapture. A man stares at some wilting flowers, and weakly cries to Him, "Where have the angels gone- I spy only gargoyles." Obscured by clouds are his stars. A man who fears what he does not know, spies a black angel in the sky and bellows, "Speak to me putrid angel; no, please!" His entreaties are useless- he falls limply whilst weeping; Obscured by clouds is his Lucifer. A man curled in a corner; weeping, Vomits, retched by the acridity of the demon, and utters, "Who is there? Azreal? Lucina? My Venus- bird?" Obscured by clouds are his thoughts. A man, delusional from malodor- weeping still- Retches once more and speaks to the emptiness, "Who creeps across my floor? Tisiphone? Melampus? My Light? Obscured by clouds are his thoughts and eyes. A man, ill and pallid from misfortune and stench, Gags, then screams to the silence, "Who whispers in my ear! Dis? Him? My Helen?" Obscured by clouds are his thoughts; his eyes; his ears. A man, paranoid as a recluse, smells water; Ailing, he stands, collapses, and deafly whispers, "What laps against my walless confine? Lethe? Obscured by clouds are all his senses; the man is gone. Erst, a man sits amid Nature's art; He breathes in Her perfume. He beholds Nature's enchantress; falls in love With Her whilst on his knees. A man now stands amid Nature's peak; He delights in all it presents; The coos of the doves remind him of a dildo long forgot; The man is at his pinnacle. A man now hunches over in Nature's decaying valley; Following Her diction, as all are damned to do, he ponders Her enigmas. He sees a river flowing from the peak and tramps decrepitly towards it, And like a hoar- frost, it dissipates with his mind… and time passes on. A man now lies in the snow, amidst Her dead and sere work. He gazes to the sober and ashen sky, curses his Parents whilst weeping. His tears freeze in his eyes- he no longer sees nor wishes to, And solemnly he accepts the cold angel's hand and sleeps. An infant now lies in the arms of Lucina; The man of ages past knows but cannot see. He foresees this child's fate and swoons; Obscured by clouds, though, is it's present. A child smiles for he is the laureate And crowned with a garland is he. The man now looks to the sober cavern walls of his limbo; Obscured by clouds, the man knows, is the child's 'morrow. A man does not understand the night's solemn song; The one time has forsaken speaks- the man cannot perceive- "Dost thou not see that the night is thine enemy?" Obscured by clouds is the laureate's fate. An old man is wise and feeble, And his years are heavy upon his shoulders; "You are at your second liminal, my son. Goodbye." Obscured by clouds to the damned is the laureate's departure. © Paul King 1999 |