flaming jewels

Night Ice (i): jewel

there is a certain brightness to the night when it snows
a certain lightsome quality to the ice
when the snowflakes reflect the moonlight--
but,
do not allow yourself to be fooled
or lulled,
by the softlightsnowbright--

it is still
Night Ice.

the ice,
that i skate on.

i am here, again, at one of the lakes
i do not know which one
i do not care.

the snow is falling, fine needle-like crystals
that smother everything in
hardness
make the ice
dusty and deadly

how well can you skate, friend?

look more closely at the scene
i set for you...

...
the lost lake
iced-over
with a delicate dusting of diamond flakes
fir trees
heavy with an earlier snow
lean in--
sad, dolorous.

the moon is hidden but there is an ambient light
from the falling snow
that makes THIS night
a very bright one,
a night filled with
deceptive softness
irresistible sharpness
(the crisp snow, the ridged ice, the cutting cold air)

breathe deep
and feel your lungs bleed
with the bitterness
--do you taste the blood in your mouth
just from
in-
haling?

ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

as i skate with a soldier
loa lightquencher watches from the edge
of the
Night Ice

i will skate with her in a moment.

but first, the soldier.
the third soldier--
this is the
third soldier i have skated with tonight
and none of them skate as well as i do.

he is well-wrapped
well-protected in my arms
i hold him close
and skate around the perimeter of the lost lake
one
more
time

the soldier is dark shape hunched against me
soldier-boy,
what does he see through his sleepy eyes?
a snow-white angel
carrying him to heaven

the moon is in my eyes
my mouth is filled with icicles
smiling
clear and cold
my body is cloaked in white feathers
and my silver skates almost spark across the frozen water...

we are walking on water--!

he does not want to give himself up to me,
but he will
and i enjoy the fight--
he is stronger than me,
but not for long

i sip
from
his
soul
   and he cannot
      fight/strike/hit/bite
         me
            anymore--

his arms are weak, now
like a child's
and so, i will carry him
my precious soldier-boy
(so young! so blind! so eager to hurt!)
to the center
of the lake
where i have chopped a hole in the ice
with my
silver
skate
blades...

(two dark motionless shadows already beneath the Night Ice)

i hate soldiers
and so,
i love them, too.

i am a vision in white and silver and diamond dust
only my red lips
give me away--
and i see the lightquencher
(little angel little sister!)
smiling from the side--

ice-dance with the soldier
ends
as he slips regretfully,
pale and wan
and sleepy
from my arms through the

Night Ice

and into the black water
of the lost lake

good-bye, my soldier
don't come back no more.

i see him briefly beneath the Night Ice
two dark eyes and a gaping mouth
he pounds a weak fist against the lake
against the
deadly
dusted
ice
leaving soft bloody prints for me
like
roses--

roses on the snow!
roses on the ice!
thank you, for the gift

i dance happily over the faint bloody roses
and
the three
dark
shapes

--the lost lake the sad fir trees the sharp needle snow
the sparking of skates the silver-white of my feathery
coat and now for loa and now for loa and now for loa--

not to hurt her, of course
only to share with her
the roses
the blood
and the
ICE.

i glide to her,
she stands,
black and forbidding
on the shore

she, the black raven,
me, the snowy owl

the lightquencher and the jewel

sister, i say, holding out my arms
and she comes
(little one, little angel)
(take this light away from me, lightquencher)
(let us dance together on the ice, the snow, the roses)

and just loud enough to be heard over the
swish
of our silver blades
the sound of

snapping

twigs..................

we turn together-------

[go to part (ii)] [back to index]

jewel@gleeful.com
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