Original Glory, by John Newson

Satan in His Original Glory: "Thou wast Perfect till Iniquity was Found in Thee," by William Blake (Britain) 1805

Original Glory

You were a beautiful child, she tells me
as she holds my infant son.

I remember when the sky was always blue, now
ever darkening through various shades of grey.

Were lingers, and I resist the temptation
to ask when the joy of parenthood
faded from my mother's sight.

Vermilion and ochre outlast the gentler shades
of linseed and lavender,
so life becomes a war of blood and rust –

but we were all perfect once,
for that brief moment between birth and breath.

John Newson

John Newson has a wide variety of interests, ranging from architecture to zoology, and a corresponding inability to focus on any single task. His writing is an attempt to achieve such focus. He lives in Wiltshire where he enjoys spending time in the countryside with his wife and two children.  His work has been published with various journals, most recently with Poetry 24, Obsessed with Pipework and Allegro.