Spin in
Begin
the original beingness of our dawn
lost as we tassel down through eons
in the complexity of our own creation
we shrink by halves, self-degradation
twisting together in the wire
our burning passion to create our desires
we skate vast oceans of sea-green glass
and ponder our creation from the black morass
I saw you there, the crystal queen
austere, at peace, the perfect ring
I came from you to start a game
you looked at me and said my name
and from your mouth there came a pulse
I could not withstand and did convulse
you gave a quizzical look
spin in again
begin again
we danced in the ether crossing breadth and width
constellations of laughter creating myth
the perfect coil, the untamed machine
the fount, the vessel, without a seam
push and pull, shrug and tug
round and round as a drill we dug
down into the universe’s core
the first viewpoint of dimension we did explore
seeing from that point of view
was cause for us to start anew
and that was when the stars went out
you looked about and gave a shout
your eyes glowed red and I could not see
blinding, ending, no recovery
you glanced about uncertainly
spin in again
begin again
I looked out across the twisted flow
of grass and trees that spread below
and saw that you had come once more to create
the sea-green glass in different shapes
the forest did change from living life
to gems of green catching the sunlight
the burning glow of your inner core
laid bare the mystery of the jungle floor
the crystal queen, now more opaque
did not but cause my heart to break
for as I approached her garden to laud her
my disruption did awake her ardor
her crystal magnified my dust and mud
and every shard did then draw blood
now an angry glance
spin in again
begin again
I wondered then at my new wings
leathery and hard covering a span most terrifying
I found the earth and sky were my own
any place I could think I was free to roam
with ease I would tear tree from earth
buffet a cloud til it disbursed
forests fell beneath fire and ash
the sea green emerald seared to black
animal, plant, insect consumed
boiling rivers to slake my thirst and then resume
copper skin and silver blue eyes
a living eclipse wheeling in the sky
but then I heard your song adrift in the warm breeze
and came to slumber, hibernate through the centuries
your lips smiled around a melody
spin in again
begin again
I laughed aloud to see you again
but laughs and roars sound much the same
of all you had built, the multitude
they could not agree and so forgot about you
so you smashed their Babel tower and made them forget
that they could have understanding, a scholar’s regret
but a man named William Blake could still see
pulled from myth and scripture he painted you and me
with your crown and soul of golden hue
my skin a burnt dark copper and eyes of blue
his apocalyptic vision of a world undone
of the Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun
devil and angel whirling in a dance of jade swords and grace
and all mankind hurled into space
you shed a tear and looked away
spin in again
begin again
a sliver of what you once were
survival is now a fight on death’s door
chess pieces at your disposal
moved against your adversary in a fight for control
but the tide rolls in and the sea resounds
unrelenting the game reduces and on your shores it pounds
your group who seek answers of truth
find little but spear and nail and tooth
the game is intense, your mortality close
and the world calls for you to give up the ghost
but your people are like the very earth
life has hammered them, tempering them from birth
but like all songs along a dwindling spiral
beauty is matched by brevity and a funeral pyre
the embers in your eyes die slowly
spin in again
begin again
housed by a mother with eyes of jade
from the fashioning of two rings your body was made
into a house of smooth, dark wood
brought to a family whose lives were good
the game now reduced to a few grains of sand
so much ability lost from your command
and the soul so harbored amidst comfort and love
conceived no large game, hearing they were played by another, far above
a soul’s respite, a breath of vacation
vision quite hidden by the mind’s machination
but war with one’s brother can bring about an evolution
and together we set out to find the solution
perhaps you remember me from long before
my copper skin and blue eyes standing at your mind’s open door
you’re looking again
key out!
who are you?
now all that’s left is you again
no spinning in or beginning again
and though this may at first confuse
as you look at your history and carefully peruse
all of your different wars and games
your name renowned, your name defamed
look beyond all your own tombs
and see yourself standing alone with your white plume
and remember when you’re further down the track
if you’re missing me while you are looking back
you can create me again to play a game
and you can know that I will always do the same
and all our spinning is just a simple dance
for we created everything here, every circumstance
I can see you now
end game
all that remains
is Dynamic 9
the summation of this game
containing all along the timeline
it is all wins and losses
all knowingness and not
it is mystery and serenity
all remember and forgot
to try to sum it up
would be to feel the universe’s seams and threads
for if you can know all
you know you’re at the end
and anyhow, no word or symbol
can solve Dynamic 9
for it is the aesthetic
so now end comm, end time
for Rhema Folk on her birthday