Central Courtyard, University of Southern California.
•
this is hallowed knowledge:
the shadow of the movement
of heavenly bodies
in the cool dry air—
June gloom come early—
illumination
where no sun shines,
the torch of kings
to guide the steps of coming plebeians—
sustenance for the humblest soul,
no more native than the palm tree,
no less hungry to stretch limbs upward into Western light
and roots down into pacific earth
21 May 2018
Image: taken by the author the day before composing the poem, in the courtyard overlooking Doheny Library