Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Gertrud von le Fort

You alone have sought my soul!
     Who shall belittle the right of your fidelity?
My soul was like a child
     that has been secretly exposed and left to die.
She was an orphan at all the banquets of life
     and a widow in the arms of her lover.
My brothers have despised her
     and my sisters have treated her like a stranger.
Those whom the world held wise have betrayed her.
When she thirsted they told her: "All things are passing!"
     And when she was in anguish they said: "But you are
     nothing!"
They sent her to my heart
     as though she were a drop of its blood.
They sent her to my intellect
     as though she were but a thought.
She was like a wild beast in a forest of dark drives
     and like a frightened bird in a dead universe.
She was like a woman who spends her life dying.
But you prayed for her and this was her salvation.
You have sacrificed for her and this has been her food.
You have mourned for her as for a lost jewel,
     and for this she shouts out your name with joy.
You have raised her up as a queen
     and for this she lies at your feet.
Who Shall belittle her the right of your fidelity?...
   
I found this poem in Shirt of Flame by Heather King. I can't find its name, but that's okay. Otherwise, I don't think there's much that needs to be said about it.

AMDG

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