To Every Poet Everyday Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

as many times as the spectrum shatters
and undeniable music is disbarred or
never brought to light in the first place

by those who stuff their ears with snow
or anything they find at hand -
only not to hear you-

that many times and more,
a hidden star retracts;
your misread nebula hangs fire-

and the broken poem spins backwards-
bone-china,
off the shelf.

you are left whispering
pure gemstone words
in the aftershocks of so much withering.

very real nightingale*, hold on
while hemorrhaging light--
it may be that the Emperor will live

though signs are few and an army of
miscreant words is blocking
is blocking the one good road to the Castle.

God's state of mind and yours
can't be that far apart
whenever you are sifting through the rubble-

beyond all help yet from your Heart
cherishing every shard that
it may be

one piece still of the language
we have left.
inherit all Beauty anyway
oh living the jigsaw Anguish

in this way
are you still there?
mending the broken crockery of worlds:
my friends?
sail on.

mary angela douglas 14 september 2009; 30 september 2023

*reference to Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale: The Emperor's Nightingale