Cuarenta
The
length of a fast or an inundation,
The
price in acres of a pioneer;
The
age to hear Gabriel’s revelation,
The
paragraphs in a Sikh’s daily prayer.
The
cycle of a Hebrew generation,
The
full term of a pregnancy;
The
objects of a Buddhist meditation,
The
Venetian quaranta giorni.
The
lashes of a Sanhedrin sentence,
Minus
one, for avoidance of error,
So,
emerging from quarantine penance,
We
stumble forward in terror,
Of
the last one, held in abeyance.
Steve
Lang
Steve Lang has published one
collection of poetry to date, entitled, "'Heavenly Hurt".
Steve’s poem, “Raphael” has been
nominated by Ariel Chart International Literary Journal for the 2020 Pushcart
Poetry Prize and is currently the magazine’s most-read piece. The same magazine
also recently published “Lady’s Slipper”, “My empty hammock” and “Two dragonflies
joined”.
“Hymn to Ninkasi”, a sonnet, was
just recently published by Grand Little Things and “The fig and the wasp” has
been accepted for publication in October by Plum Tree Tavern.
Though from Scotland originally,
Steve has travelled widely, especially in Africa and currently lives in El
Salvador with his wife and three children, where he is Director of a large and
well-known international school.
there is a classical religious tone to the work that harkens back to the day of a more literate people. may we find that day once again. you, sir, are pointing the way.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely comment Howard... many thanks! Did you notice that it is a sonnet with a missing last line to represent the (so far) undelivered, blow?
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