Night and fire surround a broken tree Made blacker by the fire; A head, an arm, barely distinguishable there Cant towards a broken sky--- 5 Black eyes unwired in the ancient face, His old heart's thudding done, Hangs that great man who's mind's a sea; Red torches gutter tongues. Sang the burning lion on the fierce mountaintop. 10 Nor proscenium nor orchestra Nor gilded balcony set About the vaunting terror of the scene; Idiot crawls to idiot And idiot begets. 15 And none's alive who'll now recall Utter nobleness of limb or sin, Beauty beyond a fall. Sang the burning lion on the burning mountaintop. I picked a blank mask 20 And put on a changing soul, Exampled by those blessed men Who suffered all in all. But I reject the holy past; That banner cannot lift again. 25 Forgotten men can't raise a song Or change my ranting soul. Sang the burning lion on the fierce mountaintop.
From the collection "Burning Byzantium"
Written by Gregg Glory [Gregg G. Brown]
More information available on gregglory.com.