Renaissance Listen / you hear fine ribs of stone / that vault and arch and fan to stars / soldering a cage of sound / that holds you not against your will / but from a hope of resonance / so lose yourself in these mazy lines / catch hold of a thread / then let it go / for there are many and which will lead you / deliver you to reasons why / basses grounding / tenors the touchstones / holding firm / countered by alto false relations / asking the questions you dare not / trebles probing the highest bounds / you cannot think that angels sing like this / they do not seek / but annunciate that one concerted purpose / yet fearlessly these voices twine / untwine entwine and intertwine / their figments of eternity / until in a flourish of infinite fullness / the singing is done / and you are undone / and at that crux of perfection / and dissolution / you are reborn / in the twist of a Tudor rose //
Alice Stainer is a lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing on a visiting student programme in Oxford, UK, and is also a musician and dancer. You can read her work in Black Nore Review, Atrium, Feral Poetry, After…, The Storms, and The Dawntreader, amongst other places. Recently nominated for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize and the Forward Prize, she is in the process of submitting her debut pamphlet. She tweets poetically @AliceStainer.
Amethyst Review 