He Sallys Forth Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

how do the earth and the skies drift together

what if they drifted apart

what if the currents that move the seas

suddenly went to the stars

what if the green wherever seen

suddenly floated to dust

what if the dream inside a dream

migrated to the world of musts

I will keep vigil through the night

quixote to shadows said

so that the earth and the purple sky

not into infamy shall be led

the jewel of my mind affects me so

the blinding flare of the shields

should I in all my lone laments

develop a will of steel

fables in books have held me

as an infinite mother her child

God of all hope

forsake me not

days of the bright and mild.

mary angela douglas 24 february 2023