Swanning against Discord's heart
I write this poem for Wallace Stevens. I read 'Invective Against Swans' yesterday and cried.
I bequeth unto his moon and sacred the wet light.
Swanning Against Discord's heart
Bronze rains laurels and fits entrails,
Crowns the burning cord of mouthing ganders.
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The park, bound in vanity, hoofs the crush,
Homes for the cankering of war marches.
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All the valved voices foot along a dead rust.
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The confused fetlocks of summer invect
The Golden Apple to the barren winds;
They pregnant the muck of blowing feathers
Inisde the hollow of earthly sweetness.
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I stop the chill of Her chariot-sails,
Inveigh with the stars and shine radiance;
I return the twain of Her to the flanks,
Solid her steed.
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I mount my soul,
Praise and white the gleam of healing blanks.
I sacrament these tides and descend from
The skies beyond.
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I accept my sorrow, O fair Helen,
And swan-foot the sand pearls of my Troy.
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I walk unvalved.
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The whole of my voice toes beaches in sand;
I glass and anoint with bright, living tears.
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I gentle Discord's mouth, swan her the waves.
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Inside foam and salt, I warble my heart
As I kiss Her so beneath the pale moon.