 | The Apostolic Beasts |  |
410
Saint Mark
There was a lion in Judah
Which whelped, and was Mark.
Which whelped, and was Mark.
But winged—
A lion with wings—
At least at Venice,
Even as late as Daniele Manin.
A lion with wings—
At least at Venice,
Even as late as Daniele Manin.
Why should he have wings?
Is he to be a bird also?
Or a spirit?
Or a winged thought?
Or a soaring consciousness?
Is he to be a bird also?
Or a spirit?
Or a winged thought?
Or a soaring consciousness?
Evidently he is all that,
The lion of the spirit.
The lion of the spirit.
Ah, Lamb of God,
Would a wingless lion lie down before Thee, as this winged lion lies?
Would a wingless lion lie down before Thee, as this winged lion lies?
The lion of the spirit.
Once he lay in the mouth of a cave
And sunned his whiskers,
And lashed his tail slowly, slowly,
Thinking of voluptuousness,
Even of blood.
And sunned his whiskers,
And lashed his tail slowly, slowly,
Thinking of voluptuousness,
Even of blood.
But later, in the sun of the afternoon,
Having tasted all there was to taste, and having slept his fill,
He fell to frowning, as he lay with his head on his paws
And the sun coming in through the narrowest fibril of a slit in his eyes.
So, nine-tenths asleep, motionless, bored and statically angry,
He saw in a shaft of light a lamb on a pinnacle, balancing a flag on its foot,
And he was thoroughly startled.
Having tasted all there was to taste, and having slept his fill,
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And the sun coming in through the narrowest fibril of a slit in his eyes.
So, nine-tenths asleep, motionless, bored and statically angry,
He saw in a shaft of light a lamb on a pinnacle, balancing a flag on its foot,
And he was thoroughly startled.
Going out to investigate,
He found the lamb beyond him, on the inaccessible pinnacle of light.
So he put his paw to his nose and pondered.
He found the lamb beyond him, on the inaccessible pinnacle of light.
So he put his paw to his nose and pondered.
"Guard my sheep," came the silvery voice from the pinnacle,
"And I will give thee the wings of the morning."
So the lion of the senses thought it was worth it.
"And I will give thee the wings of the morning."
So the lion of the senses thought it was worth it.
Hence he became a curly sheep-dog with dangerous propensities,
As Carpaccio will tell you:
Ramping round, guarding the flock of mankind,
Sharpening his teeth on the wolves,
Ramping up through the air like a kestrel
And lashing his tail above the world
And enjoying the sensation of heaven and righteousness and voluptuous wrath.
As Carpaccio will tell you:
Ramping round, guarding the flock of mankind,
Sharpening his teeth on the wolves,
Ramping up through the air like a kestrel
And lashing his tail above the world
And enjoying the sensation of heaven and righteousness and voluptuous wrath.
There is a new sweetness in his voluptuously licking his paw
Now that it is a weapon of heaven.
There is a new ecstasy in his roar of desirous love
Now that it sounds self-conscious through the unlimited sky.
He is well aware of himself,
And he cherishes voluptuous delights, and thinks about them,
And ceases to be a blood-thirsty king of beasts,
And becomes the faithful sheep-dog of the Shepherd, thinking of his voluptuous pleasures of chasing the sheep to the fold,
And increasing the flock, and perhaps giving a real nip here and there, a real pinch, but always well meant.
Now that it is a weapon of heaven.
There is a new ecstasy in his roar of desirous love
Now that it sounds self-conscious through the unlimited sky.
He is well aware of himself,
And he cherishes voluptuous delights, and thinks about them,
And ceases to be a blood-thirsty king of beasts,
And becomes the faithful sheep-dog of the Shepherd, thinking of his voluptuous pleasures of chasing the sheep to the fold,
And increasing the flock, and perhaps giving a real nip here and there, a real pinch, but always well meant.
And somewhere there is a lioness,
The she-mate.
Whelps play between the paws of the lion,
The she-mate purrs;
Their castle is impregnable, their cave,
The sun comes in their lair, they are well-off,
A well-to-do family.
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Whelps play between the paws of the lion,
The she-mate purrs;
Their castle is impregnable, their cave,
The sun comes in their lair, they are well-off,
A well-to-do family.
Then the proud lion stalks abroad, alone,
And roars to announce himself to the wolves
And also to encourage the red-cross Lamb
And also to ensure a goodly increase in the world.
And roars to announce himself to the wolves
And also to encourage the red-cross Lamb
And also to ensure a goodly increase in the world.
Look at him, with his paw on the world,
At Venice and elsewhere.
Going blind at last.
At Venice and elsewhere.
Going blind at last.
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