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Conundrum
An infinitely wilting flower
reigns on a dark dune.
The pretty petals, the thoughts,
melt into the mind,
as the soul strives to know
its own enchanting emotion,
curling through a complex chaos
of distant devotions to quiet
the crazy clutching conundrum
of sin.
Perception is perfection.
Very common, ordinary words
Very common, ordinary words construct this poem and the metaphor it conveys; and yet what is presents is as profounf as an ancient evocation, or as a summary of theological thought. And, in it, the Poet gives us a demonstration of two of his stylistic devices---which he always used with inimitiable artistry: the ing-suffix, which, in this Poet's usage, always seems to enhance, rather than inhibit, forward movement; and then the braking device in the last line. Sometimes he allows the brakes to glide the poem to a stop, as in this one (while at other times, he has slammed the brakes on, if that is poetically strategic). My reading experience of the Christmas Holiday has been much enhanced by Dalton's poetry, and I am thankful he has shared these masterworks with us.
Starward