| Jay Scott : Daily Whale : archive : 2007 : 15 July 2007 |
New Formalist Manifesto, Revised Version
The spotted sun wakes up to survey the earth,
glaring down the patternless stars. I stretch
and find myself observed by a broken statue,
the goddess Euterpe,
once the centerpiece of this formal garden,
now the muse of rioting vines and flowers.
The garden still is beautiful in its way, but
where is the music?
The sun's blank gaze insists that there is no way back:
Change was growth. I answer that I'll infuse
the day with song until, in a flood of feeling,
it breaks from its bounds, while
the raveled smoke of human endeavor waits
to turn the sunset glorious. In the dark,
I will watch as, rising, the constellations
pattern the fields.
give me a clue so sweet and true
copyright 2007 Jay J.P. Scott
<jay@satirist.org>