A very lovely poem, Jill, I'll chime in with Stephen here, without an
immediate personal reason, though I am thinking of a dear friend's loss
of a brother today; the vision is mysterious and not quite graspable to
me, which I like, but will nevertheless ask why "familia", and whether
you were thinking of the Fauré requiem (which is the only one I can
think of with the "In paradisum" - unless the Duruflé, which I cannot
recall), what "the grey wing" is and what "drone and lists". I love the
assonances, those "ow" sounds, the secret relation between cypresses,
white ladies and black crows, the "decades of sleep" becoming "aeternam
requiem".
mj
Jill Jones wrote:
> Where, in paradisum?
>
> staring into rain
> memory going north
> by red brick burrows
> in paradisum deducant te angeli
> there�s the grey wing
> the dark trees
> decades of sleep
>
> over the glassy way
> left into the river valley
> this we both know
> in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres
> but of the things
> no-one can know
> can we sing?
>
> cypresses out of place
> out of any place
> out of body and history
> et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem
> here�s the carpark
> the unknown familia
> the white ladies
>
> sorry, these are lies
> two black crows
> the mischief knows
> chorus angelorum te suscipiat
> finally a sedative response
> truth stays outside
> we�d go there
>
> wooden, concealed
> beyond drone and lists
> beyond any more capture
> et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
> sickness in the blood
> age�s close down
> hides any bruise
>
> say not
> say
> ay
> aeternam habeas requiem
> rescue
> now the sun
> on the living
>
> (D.E.W. 1931-2005)
>
>
> Jill Jones
> Northern Suburbs Crematorium, 1pm, 18 May 2005
>
>
> _______________________________________________________
> Jill Jones
>
> Latest books:
> Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
> http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
>
> Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press
> PO Box 853, Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
>
> Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
> http://www.wildhoneypress.com
>
> web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
> blog1: Ruby Street http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
> blog2: Latitudes http://itudes.blogspot.com/
>
|