Daphne Rises

Daphne Rises


Look how Mercury dapples the sky & Daphne’s house

Faces north; there is nothing to say about the light

Except it reaches beyond the heavens and would dapple

Hell if it could. In times forgotten except

In American textbooks, the slave revolt

Of 1804 means nothing in the Central Plateau

Where schools dot the country

Side and bring some hope, realizing

Learning math and science and literature

Could prevent one from early death – say about ten

Or eleven years old. These dreams – colossal

In the night sky –  dance among moon beams

As Daphne rises predawn,

As Mercury confiscates brilliance in one slide.