TRANSFERENCE

One day I saw Orpheus,
And he rushed up to me looking crazed
And -- silent as always --
Thrust a feather in his mouth,
And stared.

And since that day -- thunderbolts
Have struck me -- lotuses
Bloomed in my hands and eyes --
And on my head, the hair of fire!

--And I am white-hot now and tempered in the quench:
All on fire
With the feather in my mouth . . .

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Copyright 1982. Published with slight differences in White Wall Review 1982.

Orpheus and his Fantastic Acquaintances

"Orpheus and the Animals" | "The Wisdom of Orpheus" | "Orpheus in Toronto" | "Pan's Nights" | "Einstein"