Candles in the Sun
from Portraits of Light & Darkness, 1986
Love in the morgue
In darkness and pain,
Swiming in waves
Of sadness and grief.
My heart is heavy
And succumbs to nausea.
I raise my eyes and see
Huge stone angels
Crucifying the moon;
Reliving the agony
Of a lover who will never die.
Despite the memory of the shame
His staff had stained my mouth
With the sweetest of blood.
The chastity and beauty of his
Language frightened me:
The delicacy of his face,
The elegance of his body.
I still love him.
Dying flowers in the garden,
Algae multiplying in the font;
Ivy entwining a cracked Madonna;
The green coating of the stomach
In a vermillion sea, a Venetian flask.
All that is transparent, corrupt.
Almost tearing the sky in two.
The stench of incense
Rising towards Heaven
In all Bohemian glory.
Joining hands in the dark
In silent prayer.
Drawn from the void, sated, complete.
Full of fatigue, and pleasant dreams,
I talk of love and he of desire.
I talk of beauty and he of want.
Yet our world is one, we are one.
No-one can take it from us.
And if you leave,
My dreams go with you.
Anything in this life so free
Deserves the best to give.
Then go with love
For it is the only way to go.
Amour.
(for John)