venicebard
INTERLUDE: A BOAST
(by G.K.Spain)
I can account for virtually all
Of tav, the center or cross-roads -- conscience,
The heart itself, whether one listens
Or not. Tav's what approaches within earshot,
Angling down from horizon without
As the crow flies. It raises hackles
That call us together in gathered strength,
Like a pinched hose or a lion's roar:
Discipline, honor, Masonry's straight-edge,
Conscience's disapproval of breaking
Ranks against danger without -- the power
In banding together, like holly's prick-points
Dressed in scarlet, so blood is invisible
And does not damage morale. Each man
Depends on his twin, as the waxing sun,
The hero, depends on him who harvests
The rest of the year, its underside,
To take his place in case he falls,
Which happens every summer solstice.
It requires a second to stand in his place,
Marked by the second sign of summer,
T in the calendar of tree-months, hottest
Month, hence dryest, when grass becomes hay,
The year's furnace, or oven, or athenor,
Whose smoke means hearth and a habitation,
A crossroads. Conscience heralds restraint
Of the very first T-root, T A B,
Desire, the thing that conscience judges
(tau-peh-tau-yod-alef, 'judges').
After allotting most of tav's roots
To holly's meanings, all that remains
Is 'turtle dove', and 'fig' -- our rations? --
And something startling to seal the case,
Namely the trees of the other two dentals:
Teyt, which is bardic Aa, palm,
And dalet the oak, since Tabor stands
For a grove thereof -- oh, and 'descend',
Tau-vav-cheyt, which goes with teyt
The palm, a location, the place one sits
To meditate, its shape the legs folded
Beneath one. Long was it clear both teyt
And mem were meant as the folded legs.
Now to refine it: mem means this
In a casual sense, with one leg folded
Off to the left, ready to rise:
This is because intermediate mem
Means M's sweetness below, whilst teyt
Is the folded legs while one meditates
On transforming mem into mem-sofit
And restoring reysh to the point straight down
(Of the Cauldron's seven), where intermediate
Mem was reckoned, raising perception
To mem-sofit, its final form,
Shaped like the box that holds the Ark.
M is actually the all-encompassing
Monad, the One Ideal, centered
On top of standing Adam Qadmon
Or Upright Sentience itself, which all
That exists must seek by tending towards --
The unmoved Mover. The lasting M,
Abiding sweetness, is found only
In Upright Sentience, seeking which
That leg askew is drawn full in,
As teyt, while mem becomes mem-sofit,
A little taste of what is eternal
In the here and now: such a deal!
4/16/07
[Edited for rhythm]
(by G.K.Spain)
I can account for virtually all
Of tav, the center or cross-roads -- conscience,
The heart itself, whether one listens
Or not. Tav's what approaches within earshot,
Angling down from horizon without
As the crow flies. It raises hackles
That call us together in gathered strength,
Like a pinched hose or a lion's roar:
Discipline, honor, Masonry's straight-edge,
Conscience's disapproval of breaking
Ranks against danger without -- the power
In banding together, like holly's prick-points
Dressed in scarlet, so blood is invisible
And does not damage morale. Each man
Depends on his twin, as the waxing sun,
The hero, depends on him who harvests
The rest of the year, its underside,
To take his place in case he falls,
Which happens every summer solstice.
It requires a second to stand in his place,
Marked by the second sign of summer,
T in the calendar of tree-months, hottest
Month, hence dryest, when grass becomes hay,
The year's furnace, or oven, or athenor,
Whose smoke means hearth and a habitation,
A crossroads. Conscience heralds restraint
Of the very first T-root, T A B,
Desire, the thing that conscience judges
(tau-peh-tau-yod-alef, 'judges').
After allotting most of tav's roots
To holly's meanings, all that remains
Is 'turtle dove', and 'fig' -- our rations? --
And something startling to seal the case,
Namely the trees of the other two dentals:
Teyt, which is bardic Aa, palm,
And dalet the oak, since Tabor stands
For a grove thereof -- oh, and 'descend',
Tau-vav-cheyt, which goes with teyt
The palm, a location, the place one sits
To meditate, its shape the legs folded
Beneath one. Long was it clear both teyt
And mem were meant as the folded legs.
Now to refine it: mem means this
In a casual sense, with one leg folded
Off to the left, ready to rise:
This is because intermediate mem
Means M's sweetness below, whilst teyt
Is the folded legs while one meditates
On transforming mem into mem-sofit
And restoring reysh to the point straight down
(Of the Cauldron's seven), where intermediate
Mem was reckoned, raising perception
To mem-sofit, its final form,
Shaped like the box that holds the Ark.
M is actually the all-encompassing
Monad, the One Ideal, centered
On top of standing Adam Qadmon
Or Upright Sentience itself, which all
That exists must seek by tending towards --
The unmoved Mover. The lasting M,
Abiding sweetness, is found only
In Upright Sentience, seeking which
That leg askew is drawn full in,
As teyt, while mem becomes mem-sofit,
A little taste of what is eternal
In the here and now: such a deal!
4/16/07
[Edited for rhythm]