• Stone Angel on Canvas •
from The Decay of the Angel, 1987
Pride, and hope,
And the death of the angel
Are on my conscience this day.
Some rotting veil was ripped from my eyes
In the early morning light
And I beheld you,
Stronger than ever before.
So I saw you
Standing by the corner
And I wondered if I would ever
Fail to pass this way again.
I knew: shadows turning, twisting;
Words forming frost in the air,
Hesitation retreating down the path
Of a dozen reported meetings,
Finally leaving me alone
With a naked enemy – my friend.
Untainted by your uncompromising stare,
Unfrozen by your frigid breath
I gazed on the form of my dreams
Made flesh in a multitude of angular sightings,
And new also, that the future was fixed
Motionless to my pleading.