The Starlight Night

1    Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies!
2       O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!
3       The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!
4    Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves'-eyes!
5    The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies!
6       Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare!
7       Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare!
8    Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize.

9    Buy then! bid then! — What? — Prayer, patience, alms, vows.
10   Look, look: a May-mess, like on orchard boughs!
11      Look! March-bloom, like on mealed-with-yellow sallows!
12   These are indeed the barn; withindoors house
13   The shocks. This piece-bright paling shuts the spouse
14      Christ home, Christ and his mother and all his hallows.

“Buy then!” shocks. We move from apostrophe to the scene of an auction-house, gold coins rain from the heavens. “all a purchase, all is a prize.” What are the “grey lawns”? I think of Elon Musk, life on mars, inter-planetary bidding wars.

Last update: 02-Sep-20 21:37