6. To Percy

 

Yes, there are many spirits fair,
And genii in the city street,
And daemons, guardians of care,
Who take missives from Pluto’s seat.
Such welcome councilors to see,
Who have returned and brought comfort to me.

Behind closed doors, below the stair,
In silent places where they live,
I come alone to seek out there,
The quiet counsels they would give,
As they have answered me.
But how light vanishes,
No more shall light allow.

For when I see in other’s eyes,
Beams that were never meant for mine,
The luminous, too hard a prize
To even attain. I must resign,
As one who has no more to give,
Than ways I cannot now but choose to live.

Yes, the luminous leads astray,
Goes and leaves one introverted,
Alone in life, alone each day,
Until day to nighttime, has converted.
The changeless spirit brings me here,
In solitude, to watch the changeless year.

All the faithful smiles have fled,
And you remind me of a falsehood.
You say: the very moon is dead,
Night’s ghosts and haunts bring no real good.
By the dark of night hope has flown
To misery. As for my soul – my own.

Elements I have discovered,
That may account for my own loss.
Never mind what you’ve uncovered,
Alchemy would bring us dross.
I do not welcome change of state –
Dark as it is – more light would aggravate.