12 July 2012
A slipper hangs from tiny toes: Our Lord –
A little child – has seen His cross and spear,
Has sped to her whose heart will know a sword.
She holds Him close. Her gaze is dark and clear.
They hang in golden silence…. Twitterings
Of careless birds bring day. Dawn fades the dark.
The clockwork clicks. The hammer hangs, then rings.
The planet turns, and swings along its arc….
The morning sun glides silent up the sky.
The moments pass beneath its sightless ray.
Some few hang solid like an ambered fly;
The rest, like Polaroids, fade fast away….
The noonday sun hangs high. Three things are all:
The point, the palm, the hammer poised to fall.
Follow this bouncing ball:
Lickona was born on June 27.
June 27 is the feast-day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help resides in Rome’s Church of St Alphonsus Ligouri.
Alphonsus Ligouri.
Coincidence???
The readiness is all.
This has such a marvelous texture to it – love the “about-to-be-ness” of it all – real rocket fuel for the lines!
I was hoping to see more of that sandal further along in the poem, but a nice detail to open with.
Also, “Polaroids” seems out of place among the more ancient technologies – perhaps intentionally?
At any rate, great stuff – I enjoyed these lines in particular:
………………………Dawn fades the dark.
The clockwork clicks. The hammer hangs, then rings.
The planet turns, and swings along its arc….
The morning sun glides silent up the sky.
JOB