Climbing the Ling-Ying Terrace and Looking North
~ Po Chu-I
Translated from Chinese by Arthur Waley
Mounting on high I begin to realize the smallness of Man’s Domain;
Gazing into the distance I begin to know the vanity of the Carnal World.
I turn my head and hurry home—back to the Court and Market,
A single grain of rice falling—in the Great Barn.
Death & Co.
~ Sylvia Plath
Two, of course there are two.
It seems perfectly natural now —
The one who never looks up, whose eyes are lidded
And balled? like Blake’s.
Who exhibits
The birthmarks that are his trademark —
The scald scar of water,
The nude
Verdigris of the condor.
I am red meat. His beak
Claps sidewise: I am not his yet.
He tells me how badly I photograph.
He tells me how sweet
The babies look in their hospital
Icebox, a simple
Frill at the neck
Then the flutings of their Ionian
Death-gowns.
Then two little feet.
He does not smile or smoke.
The other does that
His hair long and plausive
Bastard
Masturbating a glitter
He wants to be loved.
I do not stir.
The frost makes a flower,
The dew makes a star,
The dead bell,
The dead bell.
Somebody’s done for.
This Friday, March 6, 2020, join me at the Northwest Tarot Symposium in Portland, Oregon, for “Triads and Septads in the Major Arcana“.
The Major Arcana, as a series of 21 cards (the Fool is not numbered, so He’s not part of the 21), conveniently sorts itself into three sets of seven cards, or seven sets of three cards. Three and seven are considered magical numbers in many traditions, and Oswald Wirth had a field day with them. We’ll hear what Mr. Wirth had to say, we’ll share our own ideas, then lay out the cards in various combinations of threes and sevens, and see what we can discover about their meanings and relationships. Please come with two decks: one in order, and one randomly shuffled.
See you there!
The Monthly Overview for March 2020 is live on my Patreon!
This is a Patrons-only feature: three cards and three runes to give you a preview of the month ahead.
With many thanks to my Patrons!
