Seven of Swords
Tip-toeing from the battlefield
with your bouquet of swords,
your garland of hurts.
Why do you care
what the others think?
Why do you carry
their thoughts with you,
points down in your palms,
making your fingers bleed?
Seven black crosses
reel across the evening sky,
squawking their accusations.
What have you taken
that isn’t yours?
Why this bitterness that
doesn’t belong to you?
8 comments:
Nice. I love the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. I was just thinking recently that a series of poems on the Major Arcana would be interesting, but I like so much what you've done here! There is probably more insight to be had on the minor arcana....will this be a series?
Charles: I have thought for a long time about doing a series using the Major Arcana. I have four or five decent ones, but the rest of the cards just don't speak to me enough for a poem (yet).
I have considered instead doing a series based on a mix of cards, similar to what you would get in a reading. Or doing one suit, such as cups or swords.
I love the Tarot, and find it endlessly fascinating. Jeff Crandall gives an awesome reading.
You might get a kick out of Calvino's The Castle of Crossed Destinies, a collection of short stories generated from Tarot spreads.
I found Rachel Pollack's 78 Degrees of Wisdom very good for making the majors more relevant. Also, because the 22 majors correspond to the paths on the qabalistic tree of life, there's a whole additional layer of qabalistic correspondences to draw on. Very rich material.
Peter, that sounds like a much better idea for a series. :)
Peter, that sounds like a much better idea for a series. :)
I find it fascinating, too.
I never noticed before today that the figure has put his fifth sword right up against his neck. One could read it like this: he can carry only two swords in each hand, and can't even get his fingers around the fifth; that sword is balanced on two others and held in place between his chin and shoulder. One false step and he'll cut off his own head, and he can't even really see where he's going. One garland of hurts could be the cuts he's surely getting on his neck.
I love the tarot, and especially this deck, because there's always something new for me to see.
Sculpin: I never noticed that about the sword on his neck. I think it's an insightful reading.
I like how the five swords in his hands make a "V" and the two still on the ground make a "II," echoing the number "VII" in the sky.
I never noticed that, either! Check that out!
Post a Comment