Inspired by Robert Browning
Don’t mind the bell for it bids to foretell,
by the jounce rattle of the ring,
that within this port will course bits of
despair which bring the timeless waste
of precious ware to rest upon these
shelves seen both here and there.
Perhaps you have come with thought’s
of another, or to glance precise at the
flirtatious Duchess, Porphyria’s Lover
or Lucifer’s mother. This once
unfettered space gives up swan
or swoon spent through turbulent twists of
time the mannered stone, a quiet tone,
the means of chivalrous atone, rare
words spent freely, the minted heads of
ancient riches. Each await with patient
reserve to serve new masters; fresh
melodies from threadbare lyrics; grey
themes to be given new schemes; time
reset for urgent generations.
Oh! This space is not as empty as first
appears to you. Once born of a swollen
heart, the unseen veiled and hollow mortal
spirits immured here evermore have come
for less than a mere pittance. Lost of
neither breath nor soul, spilled only of the
empty wraith from no less than contempt’s
pretence of pious pride. Conceived of
betrayal’s incarnate deception, each now
void of any shared sentiment save shredded
affection; all for the petulant pursuit of envy’s
petty distractions.
Take leave now to retrieve as you will.
Though these treasures, their worth no
longer apprised by earthly means,
nor to be reclaimed or sustained, shall
dwell without recourse as eternally mine.
For to be denied once is to be denied forever.
Châz
