Caesar says
You throw light
stand in the dawn
naked as the sun
just for principle and
like Alexandria burning
what we have learned
is lost in the backfires
we lit to keep truth
from spreading.
taunting time
and making it drip
to his own need,
Archimedes
measured it more or less,
but that didn’t mean
he had it under control
tho he invented
the perpetual screw
which will do
for a start
so we’ll burn with desire
and what we don’t lose
to the torch
will leave a few
fragementary
measures
we'll save
for a song
when the spell expires
dancing the night away
is enchanting but midnight
has a way of striking down dreams
the magician selling the illusion
of the moment as a renewable resource
only has so many tricks to perform
before the audience is bored
with the same dumb bunny
that he pulled a hundred times before
but Cinderella buying time strong arms
disappointment in her fairy cast finery
and tho she must still leave the ball early
pulls a fast one managing to ditch the pinch
of the glass, without giving
the prince the slip.
One small step for man
Clashing silver moon rings
against the dark, turns
her pale obverse towards the dawn
and sinks into night’s pocket;
a lucky coin flipped
to always land on the bright
side then slipped away
to be retrieved when hope
wants inspiration
her reflection proceeds apace
many phases across one face,
tho the clock melts tomorrow
the moon remains oblivious to the fortunes
she unmakes with her one-sided
arguments that cannot hear correction
her fragility is her shield
that shines in borrowed light
her robe the perfect protection
from the consequential evidence
manifested in the sunlight
of those she tramples in her flight.
for she doesn’t care to know
her defining shadow shape
that she keeps safe from sight
and she cannot be touched
by any sorrow but her own
I have always loved the suggestions of the moon, and slept beneath its cold cover, to awake to its cold eye, so beautiful yet so complicated. I think my intention wasn't to deal as harshly with her as I have, but there is always the other side.....