Poetic Divination
“Spells and Incantations” by Wilfred Owen
A vague pearl, a wan pearl
You showed me once; I peered through far-gone winters
Until my mind was fog-bound in that gem.
Blue diamonds, cold diamonds
You shook before me, so that out of them
Glittered and glowed vast diamond dawns of spring.
Tiger-eyed rubies, wrathful rubies
You rolled. I watched their hot hearts fling
Flames from each glaring summer of my life.
Quiet amber, mellow amber
You lifted; and behold the whole air rife
With evening, and the auburn autumn cloud.
But pale skin, your pearl skin
Show this to me, and I shall have surprise
Of every snow-lit dawn before it break.
But clear eyes, your fresh eyes
Open; that I may laugh, and lightly take
All air of early April in one hour.
But brown curls, O shadow me with curls,
Full of September mist, half-gleam, half-glower,
And I shall roam warm nights in lands far south.