For the Old Gnostics

By Robert Bly b. 1926 Robert Bly

The Fathers put their trust in the end of the world

And they were wrong. The Gnostics were right and not

Right. Dragons copulate with their knobby tails.

Some somnolent wealth rises unconcerned,

Over there! In the world! Ponderous stubborn

Sorrow weighs down the flying Gospels.

Some enormous obstacle blocks our way.

The untempered soul grumbles in empty light.

Robert Bly, "The Fat Old Couple Whirling Around" from My Sentence was a Thousand Years of Joy. Copyright © 2005 by Robert Bly. Reprinted by permission of Robert Bly.

Source: Turkish Pears in August: Twenty Ramages (Midnight Paper Sales, 2005)

For the Old Gnostics

For the Old Gnostics

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