Clover Kreger
Woodlands Healing Centre
The Radiance and The Pain
by Clover Kreger
Outside the open dormers, the mountain resort colonial stone structure
the whole incredible world pulsates
High up, a cluster of striated sparkles hovers
the illusion of a tiny, condensed galaxy,
shafting out its radiance -
beyond the panda-printed screen,
and night-inked foliage fondly waltzing with the wind,
the moon subdivides and disguises her fine face,
and the tinkling, almost singing, says strange, sibilant things
a whisper so vague, so low, so sotto voce
that I must strain to define the drift of the ceaseless internal
monologue, and can only catch intriguing snatches
'Alas, my beloved leaflets, by autumn you'll be gone!'
'Oh, melancholy mortals, you have not the courage to be able to bear up under the probity of my poignant poem.'
'Ergo, in essence, nothing, weep if you will, endures forever.'Between smooth, snowy, cocooning sheets and under
an ice-green satin coverlet embroidered in flame-coloured, bug-eyed goldfish
the fever bonfire in the bed endures the clock
the hands creeping slowly round and round
Pain has its own pathology, a tendency to appear endless, unendurable
The inner heat is searing, savage, wearing, tick-tock, there-there
Until the mind locks into the radiance, and is no longer there
A Selection of Poems by Clover Kreger
The Radiance and The Pain
I'd rather flee than fight thee
Nascent Morning in the Mountains
In Transient Flashes, For a Transcendental Moment which Passes, Life (Can't You See?) Is an Ecstasy
The Fit Cats and Fat Whores of Singapore
When Lost in Literary Labyrinths. . .
All Fineness and Finery Goes to Earth
© Copyright 2007 Clover Kreger Disclaimer: The information at this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The content of this website comprises only the observations and opinions of the authors and contributors: it does not constitute medical advice to readers.