The Beautiful, Not The Useful Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

THE BEAUTIFUL, NOT THE USEFUL

remembering the days we spoke of the beautiful
not the useful the sky the colour of forget me nots
how could we forget

it seemed the stars never set
and we were all edged in light
and we said, beautiful, beautiful

God was the keeper of dreams.
then we were not in harness
sewing impossible seams

on the hook for crooks and crooks
no longer denizens of the shady nooks
but finding much comfort in books they spoke

of the beautiful not the useful
in another world
light's distances from here

in manifold years and years.

mary angela douglas 3 december 2018