The Self Assumes

Gwendolyn MacEwen

not love, lean and frequent,
but the accurate earth,
a naked landscape, green
yet free of seasons
is a name the violate self assumes
after its violent beginnings

not this complex dance of fire and blood
which burns the night to morning,
these hypnotic feet which turn us
know no end and no returning

but a fish within a brilliant river
whose body separate the dreaming waters
and never touches land
is a name the violate self assumes
as silver winds instruct the swimmer
who swims with neither feet nor hands

O not this double dance which burns the night to morning
and cracks the latitudes of time and sleep
whose lean and frequent fires in their burning
break apart the landscapes of a dream,
but the accurate self which burns, and burning, assumes green.

Carol Wilson