Friday, December 28, 2012

Conception, conversion, consummation

Three linked poems by my friend Wilf.

Conception
The flame came down encountering the lily
And both were held in awe
Innocence marvelling at purity;
The bearer of the news,
The bearer of the word
Trembling on the edge of the moment
When the seed of God would tip into our world
In the heart of a pure girl’s womb.

Conversion
When the ‘brave’ braced back bends braver
And the knee knows now to kneel.
The conquered king is caught from his castle
Hauled, galled, called to the hallowed gallows
Head held high. Clawing, gnawing, mauling;
Part lamb, beast and man;
And tears turn fears to trembling trust.
In this chaos of contrition
The seed slips silently in
And all heaven exults.

Consummation
Still, still, still the newborn earth
And heaven here is hushed
No faintest breath disturbs the air
Through which the nubile figures move.
If divinity can look with awe
Then this, this, this is the moment
For the groom has locked his gaze
Upon his bride.
She whom he has drawn from the beginning
Draws close and ever closer
The first touch,
Time and eternity meet as so many times before
Parts of the one, eternal moment
The first kiss, and then...

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