When visions come: be still, behold, be filled

When visions come: be still, behold, be filled

by Gideon Burton

When visions come: be still, behold, be filled

with liquid light as rich and warm as nights

where milky ways of wonder, darkly bright,

descend and rise again, then bursting, spill

electric, drenching silence white with widened will,

with fissures tearing heavens from their heights,

the comets curving earthward in their flight.

But as the autumn-embered airways dim

or glow with pulsing heavy banks of sky,

so dark with water seeping down the high

descent, diffused by saffron shredded thin--

so I have traced his wingspan, seen him fly

in circling, curving arcs with scanning eye

that spans the chasms where I sinking swim.

Feel free to copy, imitate, remix, or redistribute this poem as long as you give proper acknowledgment of authorship. Photo: NASA