he will whet his sword
In the muted wood,
I walked alone
till screaming angels
moved like a knife
across my eyes.
Lord, in the huts
and in the mud your angels
screamed to the heavens
and the sheltered wood
was quiet no longer.
In the night I waited
torn in my sleep
seeing the sky unfolded,
feeling the earth unhinged:
and then I knew, my Lord,
and then I knew.
I’ve told others about this little book of poetry before, and will doubtlessly tell them again.
I first ran across mention of this book a number of years ago on the web. It was in the days before there was much online material about the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. In one of my searches, I noted this title The Apocrypha of Limbo popping up regularly. I read William F. Buckley’s review, which included some excerpts, and promptly ordered it.
The poem quoted above is the first of a small collection named “David’s Antiphons.” Another section is called “Koheleth in Captivity” and another “Lament for Deutero-Jeremiah.” It’s a delightful and somewhat challenging little book of poetry, and is available from the publisher, Pelican Books, here.