looking two ways

Before a busy day, one wants to "get" a lot of sleep.

(Lyn Hejinian, My Life, 1980)



The Ambassador

Underneath the broad hat is the face of the Ambassador
He rides on a white horse through hell looking two ways.
Doors open before him and shut when he has passed.
He is master of the mysteries and in the marketplace
He is known. He stole the trident, the girdle,
The sword, the sceptre and many mechanical instruments.
Thieves honour him. In the underworld he rides carelessly.
Sometimes he rises in the air and flies silently.

(Stevie Smith, The Ambassador, from the New Selected Poems of Stevie Smith, 1988)