Meditation on the Beauty of Thought (In Ten Parts)

I

I stared at the Sun, he gazed back at me
With nothing else but the heat of his flame
Burning vivid, bright, eternally free
Of our woes and fears, of our doubt and shame.
In his gaze I beheld nothing but love,
But a silent love, only I could see,
Only I could feel, that from up above
Sent to soothe my soul; Phoebus blessing me.
Setting me adrift, in a tide of thoughts
That blew as the breeze kissing where I lay,
Sole a gentle breeze, not with Sun it fought;
No wish to disturb the celestial day,
For the breeze shall not triumph over Sun
As he radiates to his soul on Earth
That dwells in the trees, the flowers and one

That today he blessed, one whose heart he stirred.

II

Soon the Earth it lay in a scarlet quilt,
Phoebus wearied, rests, come tranquility
Of the crimson calm, as the air grew still
At the slow setting of Sun's majesty.
Although the fading of the Sun had come
Its blessings blossomed with my every step,
Though the birds took flight, from the night they run,
Would not be I who ran, nor I who wept.
For I beheld the Sunset, though its might
Less gallant than in all the previous hours,
For before it sets, 'fore the coming night
Bids goodnight the trees, bids farewell the flowers.
I watched as the Sun dropped behind the peaks,
Levied onto me, it's last parting kiss,
And I ventured forth, hoping that I seek
Shall be found 'neath the cloak of moonlight's bliss.

III

The pale moon, garlanded by the dark
Of an ebony hue, of foreboding,
No soft breeze astir, not the song of lark,
Only in their nests is there comforting.
I don't fear the night, nor fear it's silence,
For does beauty lie, underneath the moon,
For it glistens soft, shines with somnolence
On the open fields not in shadowed gloom.
Mirrored on the lake, guards it while it sleeps,
And the rivers too, as they gently flow
Their dreams and hopes, to the open seas;
From the bosom brook, to the oceans go.
Be it not moonlight, that to which I pledge
My devotion, it's those that watch afar
As they beckon me, my expectant breath
Awaits the blessing of the silent stars.

IV

The stars glimmered, as if to speak to me,
To tell me a new destiny shall dawn,
Though one lonely star, be in agony
As her friends shine bright, she seems bound forlorn
Though her friends blessed me, I yearned for her heart
To find peace and joy, she to Earth descend?
To my soft embrace, where all woes are far
Off on distant lands, to their fate condemned.
Oh almighty stars, favoured to the moon,
It is her I've sought, through the landscapes vast,
And her lonely call, caused in me a swoon
Shows that love for eternity can last.
Bless me, loving stars, and I'll care for thee
With the graces held, in my tender thoughts,
In foreboding night, when the Sun's not seen,
While you guide me on, with your sacred torch.

V

Hark the coming Sunrise, forsake the night

That becomes the distant past once again,

Horizon's hills and mountains come in sight,

The parting from the Darkness' pensive pain.

Though miss the Stars and Moon that came and went

To rest within the laurels of their sleep,

Their reign upon the Darkness now is spent;

I hope they find their rest in comfort deep.

Or an ignorant Sunrise banishing

The dark the guard of flowers that had burned

When selfish Sun had been a-glimmering,

For the solace of Moonlight they had yearned.

Oh solitude, you devious bargainer,

Release but yet a curse at the same time,

The candle of your fruits becomes dimmer

When sometimes I await the Sun to shine.

VI

The Sunlight glistens on the Morning dew,

Awakened are the hedgerows from slumber,

It speaks that it would guard them faithful through

Any a prowling Storm of fresh Thunder.

Then shines upon the remnants of my past,

Released me from the woe and misery

That night had set upon me with its last

Weak breath that reaped and sowed the doubtful seeds.

The grain of my conflicting, to be scythed

With the coming of the majestic Sun,

The yellow of the flame defeats the black,

Return the birds that from the Night had run.

Precious is the war of Darkness and Light,

Beauty created by the imagery,

The black and then the blue of Dark to Bright

Shall drift across my thoughts eternally.

VII

Without a thought, and without all foresight

A Melancholy comes, and shrouds the hills

In a blanket of grey, strength and might

All powerful, the birdsong becomes still.

The lingering new clouds beset the Sun

And take from him his pride and majesty,

The verdant greenery succumbs to one

Who is to all the feared enemy.

He who denies the Sun the right to shine,

He who denies the Swan its elegance,

He who allows my hopefulness to die

And fall among the rocks of circumstance.

The leaves hear whispers of a brewing storm,

Forebodingly advance across the plains

Does he the cunning wraith, no wish to warn

The garden of my thoughts of waiting pain.

VIII

Turbulence, Rain, Wind, and the Thunder strikes

The muse now drowned within Melancholy,

The stubborn reaches of the hope now like

A doomed lover wishing eternal dream.

There is no saving grace from damnation,

The curtain of the deities freely sweeps

Across the lands that once had been freedom

From hours when circumstance does see me weep.

The Storm delights in others misery,

Laughs as his wrath does drown my soul in woe,

I wish to be adrift in open seas

Far from this wilderness that blights me so.

Behold the evening as a calm does come

To see the trees not frightened as they were,

As all their dreams and hopes became undone

In the face of future comfort insecure.

IX

Night has come again, yet there is no Moon,

The Clouds that brought the storm stand dutiful,

Smother the world with unforgiving gloom;

World that had once been bright and beautiful.

Never has one beheld so dark a Night

As this that haunts bosom, heart and soul

Of my existence. As Darkness delights

I shiver due to the treacherous cold.

No life exists within this Hell on Earth,

No movement from the silent Bush or Tree,

No songs of joy or sounds of merry mirth,

That which was joyous now has ceased to be.

Until divinity does come with words

That I did duly pray: belief unknown,

The power of the sacred Universe

Or scriptures of the Prophets scribed in stone?

X

I see a ray of hope among the Clouds,

It gathers strength to have the will to glow,

Conquer over cloud, to stand gallant, proud,

Vanquish my torment trembling far below.

It's she, oh she who had the night before

Stolen my love and faithful devotion,

This moment I wish for her ever more

To come to Earth with tender emotion.

My beacon in the dark of life's eclipse,

My comforter when all so weary be,

She came to me then and upon my lips

Planted a kiss and ever promised me

Her amour through life and eternity.

No more shall Melancholy have its way,

From Storm or Rainfall I'm forever free

From sorrow's sea, with her, to drift away.

© Cecil Field

The Lady of Shalott - John William Waterhouse