Comet

by Jared Carter

Somewhere not far beyond these barricades
mysterious, a single branch is burning.
To the dim light and the large circle of shade

I would return, and by green leaves arrayed
with broken fire, regain a different learning,
somewhere not far beyond. These barricades

are all instruction now, these sounds evade
the measure, and the swarm’s impulsive churning.
To the dim light and the large circle of shade

I would be summoned – image shattered, made
again into a thousand shapes of yearning,
somewhere not far. Beyond these barricades

the scattered pieces come together, swayed
by spectral lines that draw the most discerning
to the dim light and the large circle of shade.

Along this path we cannot be conveyed
but move as particles or waves, returning –
somewhere not far, beyond these barricades –
to the dim light and the large circle of shade.

Copyright © 1998, Jared Carter

Copyright © 2002, Lorenzo Comolli

“Comet” concludes the sequence of thirty-two villanelles in Jared Carter’s third book of poems, Les Barricades Mystérieuses. His fourth collection, Cross this Bridge at a Walk, is in preparation with Wind Publications in Kentucky. Information about his poetry may be found on his web site. An additional selection of his work appears at PoetryX.