Paradise Lost

Paradise has not been lost, but found again,

In time, in every sleeping second,

Weathered by the grinding of sin’s teeth

We are exiled, to paradise.

I have seen the inch of skin that reeks at me

Between shirt folds and reels the distending tendrils of

My bones with satiating crunch,

And the light has split into a thousand glass chimes

Of Westward sky when pink cheek rasps on withered roses in

The woozy blue, the woozy grey above of

You, Lucifer,

and your anarchic angelity.

Soup of thunder in my eyes to catch

The fallen angel of Olympus’ skies

When in mortal vision Lucifer is exulted,

Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer took the glass from all the air

And all is naked now with light

‘Light Bringing’, ‘Morning Star’ — how did you fall so far?

Is your strength resolved to reside in residual beauty

When yours so surpasses this?

Lucifer, you kiss like Shakespeare’s lost play —

For loves labours never won from

Seeking broken paper and stitching it with shaggy lips.

I wish, Lucifer, I wish your caustic hips would

Sway into your pen — sharp comedy witters round your

Ankles and bright and devilish in your eyes when you

Smile.

Brash fire burns in your hungry orbs and, Lucifer,

You singe your crinkled eyelash skin to hide the

Stony fire in your holy eyes;

Words rumble and echo from gut to gut and

I was semi scorched.

Hell must be a marvellous place.

The heavens rose out of chaos and you,

With your host of rebel angels broke mirrors,

Counted crows and black cats ‘till the morning came home

Crying “Lucifer! Lucifer! Bring light to our bones!”

And Jupiter struck Lucifer, the anarchist, down.

But he was not dead.

He was not dead.

The Arch-fiend and the fiend

Buried in devil-headed sunsets

Digressed, and

Eden, Eden, we stole you from

The ribs of Adam and

Shared you out, rib by rib bone by

Every ivory-perfect bone and

Prometheus brought fire from

The anarchists eyes to light

Our morning, icicle skies.

Tonight.

Exulted high to hell.

Paradise has not been lost, but

Found in every broken sleeping dream

Again and again and Lucifer

Screams in Exultation, exiled to

Hell’s paradise with me.