Home Life

when you were a child,

you were a tomboy

and your mother laughed at the serious way

that you looked at her

and from your window at night

there were the star's little fires

and the armory lights

you were tracing the lines

of a globe with your fingers:

cool rivers, white wastes

desert shores, and the forest green

and a limitless life

in the breath of each tide

and each bright mountain, rising

but now the boys are away,

and such kicks they are having;

slashing away at the forest walls,

with their bitter knives.

sparks bloom in their eyes,

and they never look tired.

will they never look tired?

on cliffs that tower from the rising seas

their bonfire glow

where a tiger lies

and, cleaning their weapons,

they laugh at his useless

claws, and all:

it is a beautiful night

to be born to this life

and grind his every bone to powder!

do you remember

do you remember

she carried you down to the edge

of the dark river and said:

though the water is wide,

you will never grow tired

you are bound to your life

like a mother and child.

you will cling to your life

like a suckering vine

and like the rest of our kind

you will increase

and increase

past all of our dreaming

horse without rider

lungs without breathing

day without light

song without singing

a song...