Poem - reflections from an abstract logic

REFLECTIONS FROM AN ABSTRACT LOGIC

If, at the end of this long quest
Across a sea of pitch and yaw,
One weary pilgrim finds his home,
Then will it seem a perfect stone
Or somewhat flawed?

None can survey a hell on earth
And then a hell of planets paint;
What can the sense of 'alien' be?
Word of impostured potency,
Of visions faint.

Alpha and omega is our time,
What is above is yet below.
Come crashing waves, engulf the strand!
This the beginning, this the end,
This ebb and flow.

Anarchy's flood leaves war its wake
Between the sacred and profane;
If perjured oaths yield Therion's grace,
'Do what thou wilt' shall have its place,
Bequeath its bane

Whose sorcerers tread on hallowed ground
Their patterned praying-mantis dance,
Anticipate with ceremonies one
Initiate, Unknown, yet-to-come,
The doubtful Chance.

Now all I need to learn is this:
What stranger's womb conceived the dream
Of conjuring amethyst from gold,
When alchemists' charades grew cold
And lost their sheen?

(1975)

(top) composite by Stephen Alsford; photos:
Dust Around Supergiant Star V838 Monocerotis: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A: ASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
Neptune: NASA, L. Sromovsky, and P. Fry (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Pluto: NASA, ESA, and M. Buie (Southwest Research Institute)
Uranus: NASA and Erich Karkoschka, University of Arizona
Venus: L. Esposito (University of Colorado, Boulder), and NASA
Venus: Philip James (University of Toledo), Steven Lee (University of Colorado), NASA
(bottom) photo: Stephen Alsford

Created: November 17, 2014.