Before The Day My Flesh First Knew

Before the day my flesh first knew Whose face is bent upon my own When time and tides were swimming fish And the mountains newly hone And time served up in timeless dish And flesh with ruby blood was sewn. Before the watered silk was washed And stretched upon time's lengthy rack When wardrobes of the earth were lost And tongues once strayed went off the track We learned our hands to stay the task And trusted fate would bend our backs. We camped in dreams, and took our rest In living clouds, by lightnings crossed World was, when we went undressed And though the loathsome winds might talk The larger life, unmanifest Was present there in flesh; embossed. Time moved in rhythms much too slow And blocked our vision's hapless hues The hawk's call changed into a crow Who flew the calling days too soon Our portion then was never known And trouble lurked behind the moon. Our young were formed of air and seed They came in fright, they stayed to live Because of soul's obdurate need For matter in the soil did grieve An earthly house the creatures seek, The earthly gods by flesh reprieved. Before the day my flesh first knew Whose face is bent upon my own I cast my lot among the few Who all the sad earth trod, alone But in your eyes, found there a clue To let me know that I was home.