Miner's Candle
(words to accompany
a piece of pyrite)

John Thiem

About the Author

A boy again I leap
out of the bright world
into the dark hole
of the old mine
beneath the granite of Cougar Hill
I light the candle
its flame glows cold
a comet's tail
on the bulging night,
like reason guttering
in the god cavity,
fire fooling the eye
making darkness darker

I climb back into Colorado light
greet my friends and say
go measure you miser's gold
go measure it against
the sun's incontinence

Near tailings
glittering underfoot
a tall dry stalk
of Miners Candle,
light wriggling in its fuzz
like baby rabbits

Voices sing around
my inebriate ears
and Marie-Laure exclaims
"a minor scandal"

Limping I walk north
away from Treasure Hill
turning over and over in my mind
the hidden wealth of puns
of poets' words
all that gold for fools
all that gold for nothing

to Marie-Laure 6/97

©Copyright John Thiem