at the LIRA



(for Rio Alma)



wordlessly the Adarna bird looks upon

the novitiates where they express their minds

bare their timeless passions and break their souls

laboring to tame their winged conceits



here in the Parnassus of lesser gods

they offer their craft with beauty and pride

only to be judged by their peers and foes



and those who will be forged anew with fire

will beg for the verdict of Apollo



one or two will assume their fitted place

in the fabled circle with their green bud

of imageries

rhetoric and forms



soon you will see them ritualized in print

mastering their madness and maladies

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