Sonata

Orphere: to sing napalm into the prism of lead eyes
                         
                        Orpheo, albino lyres and The Song
                          a spring 'round burning ritual
                         Orpheo rises in folded ecstasy
                                or cave shadows
                        Orpheo singing the steam trees
                                     to bed
                         Orpheo in wide boats on the Lethe;
                                     or tears
                        Orpheo Aeschyli; selling Prometheus


                     I saw her battalions,
            Oracle,
                      Writhing beneath a blood-moon,
                      Hand on hand, dext'rous, with long muscles
                      Old Tree-breaker knows though,
                      Slick knives betray those Maenads
                     "And bully the trees to pulp"
                     "And bully the trees to arrow"
                     "And bull the trees into fires"
Pale eyed Oracle,
                      I saw those running the tall grasses
                      out amongst breakers,
                      Under the bright sun
                      All with stacks of lumber or bulls
                      or helmets or glyphs
                      And dashing to sea in dark ships
           Oracle,
                      I saw the old song ripped from throats
                     thread the empty canyons at Babylon and South Ferry"
                      "The Breaker then?"
                     "If not he, then Prometheus"
                     "If not the scatterer of tongues;
                      if not the sender of locust and creeping death;
                      if not the binder of poor fire-bearing Prometheus"
                     "Only if Prometheus is an allegory for Socrates"
       Now, Oracle
                      I saw star eyed man run to the barrows with women;
                      The Dead dance caverns across my eyes,
                      The Dead out of the barrows,
                      The Dead pointing to Memphis;
                      The Dead in disarray as only corpse understands

Prometheus (in steel fetters) ,Parched, on his rock
Hermes, trickling down, lays his winged sandals on the rock

                     "I saw those battalions, Prometheus,
                      with hard bucklers and fat torches
                      blazing out amongst the waves"
                     "I saw them bully the trees to pulp"
                     "I saw them bully the trees to arrow"
                     "And fires on the dark beaches"
                     "And you, old fire-giver, chained"
I, Oracle
The piss-stained beds in fortress-hospital-embassies turned over to bones
The heaps and heaps of pilgrims in subways
            Steam ripping the song from throat, hand, elbow
            Whispers under umbrellas against the firebombs
Shiva knows Whitman knows Kennedy knows Abraham
           All wearing piss-stained embassies for garters

         Oracle,
                     solid colour
                     in vortex sands
         Oracle,
                     "Prometheus is sold,
                     sold on his rock, at auction"
                     "Theseus sold too"
                     "and Abraham?"
         Oracle,
                    Light us the way with fires
                 
              We, burnt offerings
                prize goats and charred ewes
                black in fury to tongue scattering Zeus
                the sweet burnt flesh
              We, bronze shields and tripods
                the spoils of cities and churches
                obsidian
              We, burnt offerings
                curling sweet smoke
                to high Olympus

Words then and rage.,,.,.
Out black doors and domicile hulls
Hard oar slap on rushed breakers
Carry down to the slick piers
Shove the dark prow off
Over the glister of stars on water
Fires in the hull ports
And chanting engines of steel
Clip the curling waves
Red flashing knives knives knives knives knives
Running the length of muscles
And pull our vessel to cliffs
Running the length of deck-boards
Words then and rage.,,.,.

Fire
Sweeping in bodies and foot stamp
Fire
in reverie to the dark world
Fire
In bell's tolls ringing
Fire
Wooden mallets stamp
Fire
Fire Fire Raang Raang
Circling bell-stamp
Raang Raang Raang
Drum sweep
Fire Fire Fire Raang Raang Raang Raang
Fire Raang Raang Fire Fire Raang
Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire Fire
Raang Raang Raang Raang Raang Raang Raang