Angelica the Doorkeeper -- Anonymous

(Poem #156) Angelica the Doorkeeper The falcon soars The town's gates are even higher Angelica's their doorkeeper She's wound the sun round her head She's tied the moon round her waist She's hung herself with stars. -- Anonymous

Translated by Anne Pennington.

For some reason, these six lines seem to have stuck permanently in my
memory. Again, I'm not quite sure just why this should be so... perhaps
it has something to do with the way the individual images, though fairly
ordinary (albeit nice) in themselves, seem disconnected, even, at times,
hallucinatory, in combination. The overall effect is mysteriously
beautiful (or do I mean beautifully mysterious?)

thomas.