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Thomas Traherne in the Orient
Thomas Traherne in the Orient - Pauline Stainer
Thomas Traherne in the Orient
They shall look on Him whom they have pierced
clothed with the Southern Cross,
sun and moon on threaded rings,
hurrying, tarrying
they shall hear
the blue cough of leopards
on feast days
in the bridegroom’s chamber
they shall tongue
such syllables
the unicorn will kneel
to the Buddha
they shall see
young men
flex like angels
in the gem-mines
they shall sense
the seraphim
as elastic particles
rippling under haze
they shall dilate
like donors
before the sea-wind
in the cinnamon tree
they will be
such felicitous dust
in the balance
they will unsuppose
the body.
from The Lady and the Hare: New and Selected Poems (Bloodaxe, 2003), © Pauline Stainer 2003, used by permission of the author and the publisher.