! Ode On A Wedgwood Urn Poem by Michael Shepherd

It’s a gentle green in colour,
sits on the shelf, still, contained,
containing, and content;
around it, another world
is playing out its immortal role,
in constant movement which
somehow conveys to us, stillness,
peace; there’s order in that world;

and yes, John, you could well call it,
unravish’d quietness: (you said, once,
in your romantic way, that
you were certain of nothing
but the holiness of the heart's affections,
and the truth of imagination;
here's the urn to prove it..)

erect yet relaxed in pose,
hair in a chignon, one hand
touching her neck, the other
holding a rolled scroll, resting
on what could be a reading desk;
she’s elegant, attentive, sensing, observant,
yet full of sweetest silent thought;
she’s said to be Euterpe,
goddess of lyric poetry;
I should respect her, even beg.

Another graceful figure, also
lightly draped, so that her body
is an open yet modest secret,
plays the lyre to some timeless tune of truth;
another leans upon a rough stone column,
absorbed in what another with up-pointing hand
is telling of what reigns above;
beautiful truth; truthful beauty..

a second lyre rests, unattended yet significant,
upon the ground; as if music’s secret musing
remains always there, even when unplayed;
sweeter when heard to be unheard..

three dance together; their lightness,
grace, and ease are simultaneously
celebration and surrender; their breeze-played draperies
tell us how ethereal our holy bodies are,
caught in the breeze of time;
there’s more to them than meets the eye;
but that’s what eyes are for,
they say to us: to see, to know, they’re there..

trees throw out leaves, as if
they hear the music, dance the dance,
know that upwards is what they grow towards..

there’s an elegant brazier burning there; the scene
is evidently not complete without
the significance of the sacrificial fire;

gentle green upon the shelf,
contained, containing, and content,
it plays out its destiny of gods and goddesses,
muses, graces; unconcerned
whether I should wish to look at it,
admire it, perhaps ask questions of it;
even, live a little of its life…