Shanti Weiland

Ode on “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

 

I used to think it romantic,

the rush. Her bending

as he played the pipes.

Love in its infancy.

A glass lake.

 

But who would have known

how I’d settle

into middle age, like gold

in cracked china, glimmering

at supper time?

 

The weight

of knowing

death. The evolution

of beauty.

 

If I saw that urn now,

I’d break it. Shake

out its pieces.

Set them free.

Shanti Weiland’s book, Cracked Planet, is forthcoming from Negative Capability Press. Her first book, Sister Nun was the 2015 winner of the Negative Capability Press Book Competition. She is currently writing a book of poems about Star Trek: The Next Generation; authors the blog, The Poets That You Meet; and curates the web corner, Online Enlightenment. You can find her at shantiweiland.com