Bright Was Our Fortress Before Fading Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

for MZ

Bright was our fortress before fading
When the snow skies cleared
And the sky was in strips of azure
With the sapphire light shining through it
How glasslike they seemed
The places we went to reenact
The imaginary battles, the toylike scenarios
If only all history had been so
Or war had come to mean in any language
People throwing flower petals at each other
In the orchards
Or drumming had only been
Because people loved red and gold parades
And raspberry raz mah taz and all that glorious fizz
Dear God, let there be no more dead.
No more moribund exits from the stage
We are anguished from fighting what never wants peace
But constant stirring up of the earth in turmoil.
You made us for tranquility
Like the blue white depths that exist in Space
Where only music is.
Restore to us the apricot lullabies.
And to Yourself, the apple windfalls
Of wine and gold.
mary angela douglas 8 may 2024