Michael Longley
Water-Lily
As ifVenus and Betelgeuse had wings
And instead of mountainside or tree-top
Had found the right place for falling stars
And glided to a standstill on the lake . . .
II
after Frederick van Eeden
I love the white water-lily, immaculate,
Unfolding her corolla in daylight.
Rising from the cold sediments of the lake
She has seen the light and then unlocked
Her heart of gold: on the surface at one
With herself, her very own creation.
III
Finding my way by night-lights in the sky
I splash through puddles the size of the moon
To a lake the size of the Milky Way
Which I shall call the water-lily lake.
Hippomanes
Randiest of all, taking in their stride mountains
And rapids for sex, biting your hand off, mares,
Kindled in springtime, gonads ablaze, silhouetted
On a cliff where they tum as one to face the wind,
Snuffle the air and often - not a stallion in sight -
Are impregnated:
they have been ridden by the wind
