emblazoned with its symbols,
character and resonance
of the United Kingdom.
Written by Emily Isaacson,
it is her latest work of art,
poetry published in the book Victoriana.
Isaacson's Hourglass details the poetry
of a waning empire,
on the verge of transformation.
Hourglass
The
minute grain of sand
through
the hourglass, counts
each
moment of me,
each
person I become,
with
airs or plain common sense—
You
dressed me in linen,
as
the wild grass burrs,
and
anointed me with fine perfume
from
the paisley flowers of the field;
streaming
down my forehead
was
your oil.
So
I was cleansed from within,
so
I walked free like a man
released
from a prison.
The
temple’s gate welcomed me,
the
church house sang my arias,
they
trellised the treble
and
reverberated the bass,
note
by note.
The
hourglass sand is
whiter
than snow,
never
runs sour,
is
as multicoloured as fire,
and
salty as the sea,
pouring
and pouring
until
it turns again.
Emily Isaacson