SURFACES AND MASKS; 18 by CLARENCE MAJOR

You set out on a morning bright
for the guild,
as though you were an invited guest,
about to take part
in some important civic discussion,
and
who knows,
you might do just that,
after all.
Here in the Scuola Dalmata, the caretaker
mumbles to himself
pacing between the card rack
and the entrance to the upstairs
room.
Darkness is cold, and the only light
comes from the static voice
of Carpaccio's...
George is calm, almost bored
as he drives the spear
into the neck of The Uncontrollable Forces
of Nature.
You think he is probably too late.
Look! Look at the destruction
he's already responsible for.
Yet you see among the half-eaten
bodies, skullbones
of other animals,
so you know you are not up against
a discriminating beast!
His fire -- like the fires of Hell
heating the furnace of Heaven
at the Ellenico -- is also ironic.
George could not be more
connected
to the dragon than he is
by the straightness
of his spear. The serenity behind him
in the land and the sky,
even in the straight still trees,
and the bright little buildings,
and in the calm water of the river
(more a medieval Tuscan @3virtu@1
than Venetian!),
are as much
connected
to the dramatic turn of events,
the sharp
abrupt lines created by George's horse,
the spear, as to
the bleeding dragon,
George himself.
And this is where the discussion
begins.
But what you are not aware of
is this:
a lion has followed a man
into
the @3scuola@1 and when you turn
and see this for yourself
you know why
the others who've just gathered here
are now running in every direction --
some upstairs,
others toward the door.
The Lion-Man is old. He uses a walking stick
to walk.
You see the caretaker's fear grow
as he trembles.
A group of monks
that has just entered
turns
and returns to the @3fondamenta@1.

Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org

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