Ascension, after John Donne

Podcast version of this piece.

Embrace the first and forever night,
Heartening as this Moon journeys from cresting
To full-figured, and in this ecstasy begins to fall
Earthward, pulling me down to orchards heavy
And underground, into mysteries of regeneration—soft-
Bellied seeds nursing. Death-life-death, Her step
Makes darkness delicious. Licking sweet syrups from fungi
Kingdoms, Mother God is not the sun, the straight, golden
Path, but braided roots, white pears of underworld offering
Themselves into these my hands, dispelling the garment
Of wrath. Lady Wisdom reigns in me, in time and ever-presence,
To my own recovered humanity. My heart, finally.
My Holy Cloud, the only Holy Ghost—
Knit my heart with wind and rain and wolf.

Note: The Dialogue Foundation provides the web format of this article as a courtesy. There may be unintentional differences from the printed version. For citational and bibliographical purposes, please use the printed version or the PDFs provided online and on JSTOR.