COMPASS AWARD

***

You shall recall me yet, and more than once —
Recall my world, uncommon and exciting:
A clumsy world, fashioned of flame and songs,
But, unlike others, wholly undesigning.

It could have been yours, too, but no. It had
Proven too little, or perhaps too vast.
My verse, it seems, must have been very bad,
My pleading with the Lord for you, unjust.

But every time, drained of your strength, you’ll yield
And utter: “I don’t dare recall those nights.
A different world has fascinated me
With all its simple, unrefined delights.”

Giraffe

Today I can see that your gaze is especially sad;
Your hands are especially slender, encircling your knees.
But listen to this: far away, far away, near Lake Chad
A giraffe paces elegantly.

A figure of grace and a lifetime of bliss are his boon,
And a magical pattern adorns his magnificent hide,
Which no one would dare to compare with except for the moon
As it glitters and sways on the lakes that are misty and wide.

From afar he might look like a ship’s billowed sails painted bright,
And his gait is as smooth as the jubilant winging of birds.
I know the earth witnesses many a marvelous sight,
When at sunset he hides in the grotto of marble unheard.

I know the gay tales of mysterious realms, and the songs
Of an African maiden, of a young baron’s passion and pain;
But you have been breathing this slumberous fog much too long,
You will not believe, not in anything, save for the rain.

So how can I tell you my tales of that tropical land,
The slim, bending palm trees, the scent of unthinkable green?...
— You weep? Well, then listen to this... far away, near Lake Chad
A giraffe paces elegantly.