FRANCES DONOVAN

               		                                 Malecasta Repents 
          
                                     Here, at the edge of winter,
                                     you came to pluck some solitude
                                     from the branches of this unsung tree.

                                     You've been here before. 
                                     Again and again you've been here. 
                                     At the edge of the heath where the woods begin, 
                                     you seek this gorgon's shadow 
                                     and reach to her naked fingers, 
                                     begging for fruit. 

                                     But every time, the sounds of man prevail. 
                                     Soaring higher than condors 
                                     comes the sussurus of traffic. 
                                     Ghosts of old lovers nip at your silhouette, 
                                     that skin-prison under its cloak. 

                                     For the moment, 
                                     you have forgotten the respite that came 
                                     from the walk to the edge of the wilderness. 
                                     You have forgotten even why you came 
                                     and turn back, confused, 
                                     to your castle 
                                     and to the destiny that awaits you. 


                               Malecasta, whose name literally translates as "badly chaste," 
                               is a character from the third book of Edmund Spenser's The 
                               Faerie Queene. Malecasta falls for Britomart, the exceptionally
                               chaste heroine of the book, who visits Malecasta's castle in
                               man's armor.  When Malecasta slips into bed with her that
                               evening, Britomart runs her through with her sword. 


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   � 1997 by Frances Donovan