Ceres Fertility
Christopher Klinges (9/25/1974)
Her invitation might have seemed a climax
But became mere introduction
As we meandered through September's field
Stretching infinite toward an aloof sun
Guarded by floating islands
Eclipsing the light giver and refracting
Dividing its pulse into a shower of beams
That supported the overarching dome of blue
And reached out to beckon the utmost
Chanting fertile beauty to the universe.
Today I touched a grandeur
Unduplicated by any master's brush
That overwhelmed me with conceptions unfathomable
Stirring deep within my soul and hers
To know we could not detract and only add
Increasing the hope of these several orbits
That when we knew well the path
The occurrence might still be held in awe
To cry for the glory and build within
What unlimited existed in this landscape.
The breeze of the splendor blew everywhere
And reaching near me found my heart
Extended to its promise in return
In wonder wanting it near
To know better the meaning
Of the power engulfing us
Saying little while feeling its crescendos within
Watching as we rotated beneath and receded
Laughing at the insane magnitude of it.
Joyfully we yielded ourselves to this world
Allowing nothing to diminish
Its perpetually unfolding renewal
With evolving changes diverse
Forming ourselves in accord
Or during unwise resistance suffering
From the imbalance of forces within
Quickly ever returning to her needed wish
Exalting when we complete the passion of newness
And the youthful revel of this field's life.
[The image above, taken by me, is of "The Meadow" at Longwood Gardens.
In many ways it resembles a similar field that adjoined Meetinghouse Road between Route 202 and Evans Road in Lower Gwynedd Township, PA. It has long since disappeared: plowed under; developed into a suburban Philadelphia neighborhood with numerous luxury homes.
A young woman, who lived with a commune of friends in an old farmhouse adjacent to the field, invited me to walk through it with her on the day in late September, 1974 that I shall never forget which is commemorated in the poem.
I was very much in love with her. Her beauty, the beauty of the thoughts she shared with me in conversation, and the beauty of the world around in the field that day overwhelmed me with an awareness of love that seemed infinite, and transported me outside myself in passionate oneness with the universe.
Obviously, there was great joy in the experience. I am still profoundly moved by it when, in my thought, that long ago time is recalled.]
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