The Church
Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)
Painted angels guard the altars;
And rest and shadows; beam from blue eyes.
In incense-fumes dirty lyes swim.
Figures stagger woebegone in the emptiness.
In the black kneeler a smallish whore
With faded cheeks resembles the Madonna.
In golden beams wax figures hang;
Moon and sun circle the white-bearded God.
A shine of soft columns and skeletons.
The sweet voices of boys died at the chancel.
Very quietly rapt colors move,
A flowing red from Magdalene's lips.
A pregnant woman goes astray in grave dreams
Through this twilight full of masks, flags.
Her shadow crosses the saints' still ways,
The angel's rest in lime-washed rooms.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 32 sec read
- 42 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 626 |
Words | 107 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
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"The Church" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/14776/the-church>.
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