The Eclipse Of The Beautiful In Our Time

the eclipse of the Beautiful in our time
a dream headline  made to order
in my mind

a summing up of stars receding
of the need to explain the Universe
without Him

over and over again

the eclipse of the beautiful
and the after parties
and children deprived

of the Beautiful and
the stories of gold
the trees weeping onto

the vacant avenues
sodden leaves
in the rain

and in the little lanes
the absences of birds
and roses

people striking odd poses
the cult of the ugly
the raucous rewarded

the look at me
look at me
even if

there is nothing to see
no one to ask why

are people happy
with the eclipse of the beautiful
and light is going away unmourned

crowning some other planet
where sparkling 
in its myriad disguises

is made to feel at home.

mary angela douglas 20 august 2017