Pure White Tints – a poem by Susie Gharib

Pure White Tints
 
The taper that towers above my sorrows,
illuminating the essence of grief,
has bled its tears of opal,
recasting a string of beads
on which my lips would breathe
its fragrant creed.
 
The pew that had cherished my hymn-book
has been languishing for my weight.
A dialogue with an inscrutable power
has estranged me from our ancient seat
for I could not prevaricate,
or even explicate
my notions without stirring up an upheaval of debate.
 
I dip my bread in milk
and contemplate in my bowl
the New Jerusalem the Book of Revelation depicts
in pure white tints.

Susie Gharib is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde with
a Ph.D. on the work of D.H. Lawrence. Her poetry and fiction have
appeared in multiple venues including Down in the Dirt, Impspired
Magazine, Mad Swirl, A New Ulster, Adelaide Literary Magazine, The Ink
Pantry, and the Pennsylvania Literary Journal.