issue 24 > light verse > court
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Crane Gnomes on “To Brooklyn Bridge”
by Wesli Court
Six Tailgaters
How many dawns, chill from his rippling rest,
Does the poet count in Poseidon's chest?
Tilting there momently, shrill shirt ballooning,
You jumped and left the deck, a seagull swooning.
And we have seen night lifted in thine arms
Fulfilling your self-judgment's deep alarms.
O harp and altar, of the fury fused,
You drowned your gift, left most of it unused.
Only in darkness is thy shadow clear:
Light extinguished in the depths of fear.
Terrific threshold of the prophet's pledge,
You chose to plunge before your soul could fledge.