Nocturne, by Jennifer Wenn

Starry Night, by Wenzil Hablik (Bohemia/Czech Republic) 1909

Nocturne 

With thanks to those who saw and captured the magic  

Before, when the sun slipped away 
coruscating wonder and wisdom reigned above; 
Hablik looked up to find earth grasping 
for a whirling, scintillant firmament; 
Van Gogh beheld intense, shimmering spirals 
of power surmounting a sleepy town; 
now, city-bound, I am greeted 
by a murky veil harkening 
to Whistler’s night visions, but 
bleached of his delicate beauty. 
 
Abscond, throw off time’s shackles, 
escape blinding excess; 
gaze skyward anew, rediscover the 
painful, lost art of 
patient, faithful waiting. 
 
[…] 
 
Dusk settles over pastorality, 
crickets serenade dancing fireflies, 
a dog a farm or two over bids 
farewell to the sinking crescent moon 
and, channeling Sappho, welcome to 
the glittering diamond signifying Venus. 
Jupiter, lord of the planets, is soon 
shepherded in, followed by the 
Martian mote cloaked in dusky red. 
The first stars, Dickinson’s Arcturus 
and Auden’s Vega, sparkling across 
unfathomable expanses lead a trickle, then 
a flood filling the sky with pointillist wildfire 
slashed through by the Milky Way’s 
blazing river of embers. 
 
[…] 
[…] 
Breathe 
[…] 
[…] 
 
All too quickly modernity searches me out, 
recouples the fetters, and ushers me 
back under the cataractic dome, 
back to my pseudo-cave where I will 
hibernate and remember, 
and dream of a return. 

Jennifer Wenn

This poem was previously published in Beliveau Review 6.

Jennifer Wenn is a trans-identified writer and speaker from London, Ontario. Her first poetry chapbook, A Song of Milestones, has been published by Harmonia Press (an imprint of Beliveau Books).  She has also written From Adversity to Accomplishment, a family and social history; and published poetry in WordCity Literary Journal, The Ekphrastic Review, The Stratford Quarterly, Beliveau Review, Journey of the Heart, Watchyourhead, Open Minds Quarterly, Tuck Magazine, Synaeresis, Big Pond Rumours, Fresh Voices, Wordsfestzine, and the anthologies Dénouement and Things That Matter.  She is also the proud parent of two adult children.  Visit her website at https://jenniferwennpoet.wixsite.com/home