H e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s b e r g

N a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i v e s E d i t i o n

ANNE WALDMAN

Verses For The New Amazing Grace

The grace of all the bards who pen

Their words do transport me

Sweet vowels & consonants strengthen

Goddess Poesy’s legacy

Heart-pearls roll off the poets’ tongues

Who chant in praise of Love

Troubadours blest with hearty lungs

Esoterics zapped from above

Sappho’s bite & Shakespeare’s wit

& Dante’s mystical climb

Dickinson’s rhyme, bearded Whitman’s breath

Are etched in genetic spine

And if the planet cease to spin

Sad universe go silent, dark

Ancient poetry’s echoes will make a din

Rekindle the primordial spark

O I bow down to Christ’s thorny crown

All sacraments meant to heal

The Buddha’s smile, old Yaweh’s frown

And Allah’s consummate zeal

But poetry’s a Goddess sent

To save a wretch like me

She strums the strings of life’s desperate edge

With her haunting melody.

[Originally published in NHS 1994, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs94/index.html#2.]