god damn beautiful

the singing robes fly onto your body and cling there silkily,
you step out on the rope and move unfalteringly across it,

and seize the fiery knives unscathed and
keep them spinning above you, a fountain
of rhythmic rising, falling, rising,
flames,

and proudly let the chains
be wound about you, ready
to shed them, link by steel link,
padlock by padlock-

but when your graceful
confident shrug and twist drives the metal
into your flesh and the python grip of it tightens
and you see rust on the chains and blood in your pores
and you roll
over and down a steepness into a dark hole
and there is not even the sound of mockery in the distant air
somewhere above you where the sky was,
no sound but your own breath panting:
then it is that the miracle
walks in, on his swift feet,
down the precipice straight into the cave,
opens the locks,
knots of chain fall open,
twists of chain unwind themselves,
links fall asunder,
in seconds there is a heap of scrap-
metal at your ankles, you step free and at once
he turns to go-

but as you catch at him with a cry,
clasping his knees, sobbing your gratitude,
with what radiant joy he turns to you,
and raises you to your feet,
and strokes your disheveled hair,
and hold you,
holds you,
holds you
close and tenderly before he vanishes.


the poem rising by its own weight

denise levertov


this poem makes me want to cry b/c i want to scream how right the words are! how much i feel them! how beautiful they are! how beautiful he is, the miracle. this is the most beautiful fall. for me this is where i take "the spirit catches you and you fall down". i guess this moves me so b/c i find these falls and these words of sorrow so intensely beautiful. it makes me want to live life b/c it demonstrates the voice/ the other minds that are falling beyond the superficial level of life. others who are sensitive and screaming in their revelations and being so miserably and wonderfully overwhelmed. this makes me want to live life. this is upllifting.

ok, so now i'm going to go have a poetry orgy and come back.