II


My devilish friend,
I heard of
one who settled
upon the flood
plain as comrade
to a grandson
of the siren —
all hedges stiff
with dried mud
from the river:
this great princess
rejected the gospel —
a shrine to
the dog star,
a cat ruled
the star mice —
her throat encircled
by amber, by
jet. She laughed
to find a
thread of my
sperm upon the
garment of nettles:
her grave ornaments
of chalk beside
the shepherd's crown.