Dim As The Bride

dim as the bride

on the last horizon-

all of my snows were home

they have floated now

like light through veiled prisms breaking;

I'm not called away to their collapse.

the offices on the moon are clouded.

there's no line left to stand in here on earth

all of my snows were true

but now, they freeze into

these pale trajectories of flights dismantled

where green grass doesn't stain

where blue is no longer sky yet-

"bends not with the remover to remove"*

love is not love that bruises

the least snowflake fading

though the windlass fails.

now the pollen of my farthest star

is weeping

and someone's yanked the chain

on the light-bulb moon

lily shadows lily

but all my snows

in soft, bright encore reappear

as I am gathering still

these small waxen words revealed

over a roiling sea...

oh icarus

o Christ.

remember me

mary angela douglas 22-23 february 2011

*Shakespeare sonnet

I Looked Up And All The Stars Were Jasmine

"The call to action last Saturday draw less attention to the Chinese people. However, in Beijing, a man named Liu Xiaobai 25 years old was ambushed by the police when putting jasmine flowers in front of fast food restaurants, especially, McDonald's, which was mentioned as the location of a planned protest, and took some photos there.


"I was very scared when the police took my cell phone. I just put some white flowers. What's wrong with that," said Liu. "I'm an ordinary citizen who love peace."


Security forces intended to arrest Liu previously, but the crowd of journalists initially prevented the arrest. Two other men were also arrested. Not yet clear whether the actions were related to 'Revolution Jasmine'. The arrest took place in Shanghai.


On Sunday, the government went further, reaching the virtual world. Search for the keyword 'jasmine' is blocked in similar micro-blogging site Twitter in China, Renren.com. Not only that, short messaging service via mobile phones are also disturbed."


AP Article found on VIVA newspost Internet Sunday February 20, 2011 after initially hearing about this on BBC Radio
====================================================================================
I looked up and all the stars were jasmine
the moon was veiled in jasmine
the crickets in the dark
sang "jasmine", "jasmine"


in my heart a small white
flower so perfumed
in my heart a small
white flower, delicate, in freedom


bloomed and bloomed.


I looked out and all
the earth was jasmine
folded into Space save in


one place, only-
a poet with one last word to spend
spread a trail of jasmine


and was led away to who
knows where by those afraid
of only flowers.


now the lines on God's own weeping palm
are crossed and crossed again,
but they spell "Jasmine"


and all my tears-
and all my tears-
are jasmine. jasmine.


mary angela douglas 20 february 2011

Many Beautiful Things Are Lost

many beautiful things are lost

in the sea of forgetfulness

and the clipped birds

from fairytale regions

cannot rise

oh bring to me

as of old

the laden ships

and the gold of words spoken

for beauty alone and for no other reason

so that I am not lost

so that I am not lost-

with them-

mary angela douglas 20 february 2011

Unwrapping The Paper Theatre Of The Mind

unwrapping the paper theatre of the mind

see the gold of stardust sifting past

the foiled huntsmen in the distance...

the backyard roses heaped up on the stage

let you know the end of something shines-

but you are too entranced to move

when no wind stirs the whirring pinwheels

and the dolls can't tear their marbly eyes away

from the cardboard angel flittering

in a tiny pink spotlight.

let the colored filters turn their

candied cellophane light,

rickety, on a

single crystal slipper-

though the paper candelabrum blaze

in medias res...

the razzle-dazzled mouse runs down

the semblance of a chime-

it's time to go.

and you can feel

faery music from the battlements

begin, this time, for real-

mary angela douglas 3 february 2011