Hidden Lake, West Shoreline. Eagle Cap Wilderness. . .
On the road in the American Northwest.
Hidden Lake, West Shoreline. Eagle Cap Wilderness. . .
On the road in the American Northwest.
THE LUTE—a long-line sonnet
upon hearing Nigel North
play John Dowland
O come again sweet love, soft rounded belly of wood,
Resonance rich with bright stars and dark loam,
Pure instrument of the unseen platonic realm.
By what strange demonic twist of fate
Did your fine form fall into disfavor? Like a Queen,
Much beloved, yet banished to a far-away isle,
You've suffered eternities of turbulent seas,
Waves of sharp steel strings, of harsh amplified sounds.
So now:—come again sweet love, let us dare open
Your velvet protective case, let down your youthful braids,
And let the coming age find new spirit on your strings;
Let the recluse tune your pegs by mountain springs,
Poets find new rhythms to match your most dissonant chords,
And bards play to Kings bent on war, as you sing of peace.
VIII.21.2009,
Camp Lost & Found,
Eagle Cap Wilderness
