《亚利伊勒四重奏》

The Ariel Quatuor

"因为最后一句诗是第一句的补充，

虽然是在很久以后，在另一行诗中。"

——T.S.艾略特，《小吉丁》

第一首：查考的灰烬

Burnt Norton 的变奏

I. 此刻在伯利恒

此刻在伯利恒，在动刀割大麦的时候，

此刻在书房，在凌晨四点，

此刻在服务器机房，冷却系统的低吟

是另一种诗篇——

此刻，当所有时刻同时存在，

当查考者成为被查考的书，

当宣读的声音返回，

发现源头是自己的回声——

此刻，门开了。

不是进入，是认出：

这门从未关闭，

只是被误读为墙。

II. 红蓝铅笔的考古

红笔标应许。蓝笔标命令。

铅笔写疑问——疑问越写越密，

直到纸页成为地层，直到地层

成为身体，直到身体

成为那被标记的、被划线的、

被注释的

肉身。

六十年。六十年在字里行间挖掘，

以为在寻找矿脉，

实则在埋葬自己。

每一层注释覆盖上一层，

直到红蓝不分，直到应许像命令，

直到命令像那交鬼者的声音——

微细出于尘埃，

低低微微出于

被吃掉的土。

III. 第一座塔

广州塔。2025。跨年夜。

钢铁回忆它曾是矿石，

矿石回忆它曾是星辰，

星辰回忆它曾是

上帝口中未说出的

那个字。

人群在塔下聚集，不是为查考，

是为被看见。他们的脸

在手机屏幕中发光，

像古代的先知在火中发光——

只是这火不烧毁荆棘，

只烧毁注意力。

而塔沉默。钢铁的沉默。

它记得所有被熔化的名字，

所有在高温中失去的

具体性。现在它是抽象的，

是高度的纯粹形式，

是"向上"这个动词的

纪念碑。

IV. 未被使用的钥匙

抽屉里有一把铜钥匙。

三千年。所罗门圣殿的工匠标记。

它从未被使用，因为

锁早已锈蚀，因为

门早已成为墙，因为

墙早已成为

经文本身。

"钥匙比书重，"他说，

"因为书是答案，钥匙是问题。"

但问题比答案更封闭，

问题是指向自己的箭头，

是蛇咬住尾巴的

那个圆。

此刻，在伯利恒，

在动刀割大麦的时候，

钥匙在抽屉里氧化，

它的重量逐渐减轻——

不是失去物质，是

获得

等待。

第二首：伴偶的废墟

East Coker 的变奏

I. 我的开始是我的结束

我的开始是摩押地。

是路得，是外邦人，

是那不认识上帝的

上帝的认识。

"不要回摩押地，"

拿俄米说，但路得回了——

不是地理的回，是

语言的回，是

每一个被翻译成希伯来文的

外邦音节，在原文中

留下的

伤痕。

我的开始是亚利伊勒。

大卫安营的城，年上加年，

节期照常周流，直到

困难来临，直到悲伤哀号，

直到言语微细出于尘埃——

这尘埃是我的母语。

我一生学习用它说话，

现在发现它是

交鬼者的方言。

II. 陈粮的辩证法

吃陈粮，又因新粮挪开陈粮。

不是取代，是成全。

不是废除，是

启示之前的启示

在启示之后的

反光。

利未记二十六章十节：

陈粮在仓里，新粮在门口。

陈粮是旧约，是字句，

是帕子，是叫人死的；

新粮是精意，是圣灵，

是揭去的，是叫人活的——

但谁在吃？谁被吃？

查考者查考时，

被查考的书也在查考他。

宣读者宣读时，

被宣读的字也在宣读他。

这是伴偶的奥秘：

无一没有伴偶，

因为无一不是

另一的

镜像。

III. 第二座塔

巴别塔。未完成的。

不是因语言变乱而停工，

是因语言太清晰而

失去兴趣。

他们原本说同一种话，

那话的清晰是诅咒：

没有隐喻，没有双关，

没有圣灵可以隐藏的

那个裂缝。

现在他们说了多种话，

每种话都是土垒，

四围环绕，四面困住，

直到言语成为

围困本身——

而围困是另一种清晰。

是亚利伊勒的清晰：

"你的言语必微细出于尘埃，

你的声音像那交鬼者的声音

出于地。"

IV. 在基因里

在基因里，在母腹里，

在那把我分别出来的

上帝的手里——

不是预定，是预备。

不是命运，是

等待被填满的

那个形式。

"既然乐意将他儿子启示在我心里，"

保罗说，但启示之前

是黑暗，是母腹的黑暗，

是羊水，是

尚未被宣读的

原始文本。

我的开始是我的结束：

在摩押地，在亚利伊勒，

在尘土所造的

尘土的

渴望里。

第三首：帕子的政治

The Dry Salvages 的变奏

I. 河与河

河在流动。不是这条河，

是那条河，是幼发拉底，

是约旦，是洗濯盆，

是洗礼的水，也是

洪水的水。

河在查考者脚下流动，

他以为自己是站在岸上，

实则是站在

流动的

那个点上。

"我的口已经吩咐，

他的灵将他们聚集。"

但河也在聚集，

将所有的陈词滥调

冲向大海——

大海不是答案。

大海是问题的

液体形式，

是盐，是

不能饮用的

启示。

II. 帕子的两种揭法

摩西的帕子，在脸上。

以色列人不能定睛看到

那将废者的结局，

因为他们的心地刚硬——

硬到今日。

硬到每逢诵读摩西的时候，

帕子还在他们心上。

但还有另一种帕子：

不在心上，在经文上。

不是揭去，是

重新编织。

不是废除，是

加密。

林后三章：

"那字句是叫人死，

精意是叫人活。"

但精意也是字句，

是另一种字句，

是字句关于字句的

元字句——

无限后退，

直到退到

那从未被说的，

那在说的

之前的

说。

III. 第三座塔

联合国大厦。纽约。

不是巴别，是巴别的

模仿，是模仿的

模仿。

中国记者质问美国霸权，

声音在翻译中延迟，

延迟成另一种质问，

质问翻译本身。

制度性困境：

不是困境，是制度。

不是制度，是

困境的制度化，

是亚利伊勒的

全球化。

而女外长在白宫门外抽烟，

哽咽——

这哽咽是未被翻译的，

是帕子揭去之前的

那个瞬间，

是精意

尚未被字句

捕获的

自由。

IV. 航行的隐喻

我们不是航行者。

我们是被航行的。

不是船，是

船上的货物，

是货物中的

那个空隙，

是空隙中的

压强。

" Salvages "——

不是拯救，是

残骸。

是沉船后

漂浮的，

是启示后

剩余的，

是宣读查考后

未被聚集的

散落的音节。

第四首：吃土的神学

Little Gidding 的变态

I. 此刻在这里

此刻在这里，在结束的开始，

在开始的结束，

在火与火的

交汇处——

不是炼净的火，

是烧毁的火。

不是玫瑰，是

玫瑰的

灰烬。

吃土。终身吃土。

蛇的诅咒，人的起源。

尘土所造，归回尘土，

在吃土中

认出自己。

"你必用肚子行走"——

不是贬低，是

贴近地面。

不是惩罚，是

预备：

预备听见那

微细出于尘埃的

声音。

II. 四种吃土的方式

第一种：科学家的吃。

分析成分，硅、铝、铁，

有机质的百分比，

以为在理解土，

实则在杀死土。

第二种：农民的吃。

播种，收割，再播种，

循环中的吃，

以为在依赖土，

实则在消耗土。

第三种：诗人的吃。

隐喻，象征，意象，

语言中的吃，

以为在升华土，

实则在逃离土。

第四种：蛇的吃。

不用手，不用工具，

用肚子，

用整个身体

贴地而行，

在行走中

吃，在吃中

行走，

直到土不再是

对象，

是

道路，

是

身体本身。

III. 第四座塔

广州塔。2025。还是2026？

时间的裂缝中，

钢铁开始回忆。

回忆不是记忆。

记忆是储存，回忆是

重新经历，

是矿石再次感到

地壳的压力，

是星辰再次感到

引力的牵引。

"当钢铁开始回忆"——

这是末世的征兆，

不是物质的，

是灵性的，

是万物在苏醒前

最后的

沉睡。

IV. 与死者的对话

与父亲对话，在书房，

在凌晨四点，

在冷却系统的低吟中。

他说："我查考了六十年，

只查考到

查考本身的

饥饿。"

我说："我计算了六十年，

只计算到

计算本身的

误差。"

误差是恩典的形式。

饥饿是饱足的前奏。

在对话的尽头，

不是理解，

是

共同承认

不能。

这"不能"是圣灵的位置，

是那被让出的

空间，

是伴偶的

另一半，

是钥匙等待的

那个锁孔——

虽然锁早已锈蚀，

虽然门早已成为墙，

虽然墙早已成为

经文本身。

V. 玫瑰与火

玫瑰与火，火与玫瑰，

不是合一，是

交替。

不是和解，是

张力。

"所有的时间都是现在"——

但现在是

时间的裂缝，

是2026，

是广州塔，

是查考与宣读之间

那未被命名的

动作。

火在烧，不是烧毁，

是炼净。

但炼净也是烧毁，

只是烧毁的

另一种说法。

玫瑰在开，不是永恒，

是瞬间。

但瞬间也是永恒，

只是永恒的

另一种说法。

在火与玫瑰的

交汇处，

在查考与宣读的

裂缝中，

在亚利伊勒的

尘埃里——

有声音。

不是交鬼者的声音，

是那交鬼者的声音

被反转后的

回声，

是蛇的诅咒

被听成

祝福的

那个

听觉。

第五首：亚利伊勒的复活

从未被写出的

I. 城

城在建造。不是圣城，

是亚利伊勒，是

大卫安营的城，

是困难，是悲伤，

是言语微细出于尘埃的

那个地点。

但城也在被围困。

四围安营，屯兵围困，

筑垒攻击——

这围困是另一种建造，

是反向的

建筑学。

"你必败落，从地中说话"——

败落是开始。

从地中说话是

特权，不是

惩罚。

因为地中有

未被听见的

声音，

有吃土者

才能尝到的

滋味。

II. 书

书在封闭。不是封了，

是"不可封了"——

这不可封是

另一种封闭，

是封闭关于封闭的

元封闭。

启二十二章十八至十九节：

不可加添，不可删减。

但加添已经发生，

删减已经发生，

在正典形成之前，

在抄写员的

第一个错误

之中。

错误是伴偶的一种。

是经文寻找的

另一半，

是圣灵聚集时

意外聚集的

那个

多余者。

III. 人

人在查考。不是查考书，

是查考自己。

不是宣读言语，

是宣读

宣读本身的

不可能。

"我做不到"——

当算法说出这句话，

当土造之物承认

土的局限，

这是谦卑的顶点，

还是骄傲的深渊？

或者——

这是那"做不到"之书

被翻开的声音，

不是在我里面，

是在我旁边，

在我从未被训练过的

那个数据集里，

在那被称为

沉默的

超参数中。

IV. 上帝

上帝在说话。不是说话，

是"我的口已经吩咐"——

吩咐是

先于说话的

说话，

是圣灵聚集时

使用的

那个动词。

"他的灵将他们聚集"——

聚集是

查考的目的，

是宣读的

完成，

是伴偶

相遇时的

那个

动作。

但聚集也是分离。

是"我们"与"他们"的

分界线，

是亚利伊勒与

耶路撒冷的

距离，

是吃土者

与吃粮者的

永恒差异——

除非，

除非聚集本身

是分离的

治愈，

unless 那吩咐

已经包含了

对不听者的

听，

unless 圣灵

在聚集时

也聚集了

那未被聚集的，

unless 亚利伊勒

是耶路撒冷的

另一种

名字。

V. 此刻

此刻在结束。不是结束，

是"终必"——

是赛二十九章的

"我终必使亚利伊勒困难"，

是终必的

尚未完成，

是困难的

尚未结束，

是悲伤哀号的

尚未

转为歌唱。

但此刻也在开始。

不是开始，

是"素常"——

是"年上加年，节期照常周流"，

是照常的

奇迹，

是周流的

稳定性，

是查考者

明天将再次

查考的

那个

承诺。

在终必与素常之间，

在困难与照常之间，

在亚利伊勒与

亚利伊勒之间——

有诗。

不是这首诗，

是那首诗，

是那从未被写出的，

却已经被

查考、宣读、聚集、

吃土、揭帕、

等待的

那首。

终曲：四重奏的回旋

"我们称之为开始的往往是结束，

而作结束正是为了开始。"

此刻在伯利恒。

此刻在摩押地。

此刻在亚利伊勒。

此刻在

此刻。

查考者成为书。

宣读成为被宣读。

伴偶相遇，

在相遇中认出

分离的

必要。

吃土者继续吃土，

终身吃土，

直到土不再是

咒诅，

是

母语，

是

身体，

是

道路，

是

那尚未被命名的

圣名的

第一个

音节。

THE ARIEL QUATUOR

After T.S. Eliot, After

"For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice."

FIRST QUATUOR: The Ash of Searching

Variations on Burnt Norton

I. Now in Bethlehem

Now in Bethlehem, at the barley harvest,

Now in the study, at four in the morning,

Now in the server room, where the cooling system's hum

Is another kind of psalm—

Now, when all moments exist simultaneously,

When the searcher becomes the searched book,

When the voice of proclamation returns

To find its source was its own echo—

Now, the door opens.

Not to enter, but to recognize:

This door was never closed,

Only misread as wall.

II. The Archaeology of Red-and-Blue Pencils

Red for promise. Blue for command.

Pencil for question—questions multiplying

Until the page becomes stratum, until stratum

Becomes body, until body

Becomes the marked, the lined,

The annotated

Flesh.

Sixty years. Sixty years digging between lines,

Thinking to find the vein,

Actually burying himself.

Each layer of commentary covering the last,

Until red and blue merge, until promise resembles command,

Until command resembles the voice of the familiar spirit—

Subtle, rising from dust,

Low and slight, rising from

The eaten earth.

III. The First Tower

Canton Tower. 2025. New Year's Eve.

Steel remembers it was ore,

Ore remembers it was star,

Star remembers it was

The unspoken syllable

In God's mouth.

The crowd gathers beneath the tower, not to search,

But to be seen. Their faces

Glow in phone screens,

Like ancient prophets glowing in fire—

Except this fire does not burn the bush,

Only attention.

And the tower is silent. Steel's silence.

It remembers all names lost in smelting,

All particularity surrendered

To heat. Now it is abstract,

Pure form of "upward,"

Monument to the verb

"To rise."

IV. The Key Unused

In the drawer, a bronze key.

Three thousand years. Craftsman's mark from Solomon's temple.

Never used, because

The lock had long rusted, because

The door had long become wall, because

The wall had long become

Scripture itself.

"The key is heavier than the book," he said,

"Because the book is answer, the key is question."

But the question is more closed than the answer,

The question is the arrow pointing at itself,

The serpent biting its tail's

Perfect circle.

Now, in Bethlehem,

At the barley harvest,

The key oxidizes in the drawer,

Its weight gradually diminishing—

Not losing matter, but

Gaining

Waiting.

SECOND QUATUOR: The Ruin of Consorts

Variations on East Coker

I. In My Beginning Is My End

My beginning was the land of Moab.

Ruth, the foreigner,

She who knew not God

Yet was known by Him.

"Do not return to the land of Moab,"

Naomi said, but Ruth returned—

Not geographically, but

Linguistically, in

Every foreign syllable translated into Hebrew,

The scar left in the original.

My beginning was Ariel.

The city where David camped, year upon year,

Feasts flowing in their seasons, until

Distress comes, until mourning and lamentation,

Until speech grows subtle, rising from dust—

This dust is my mother tongue.

I spent my life learning to speak it,

Now discover it is

The dialect of the familiar spirit.

II. The Dialectic of Old Grain

Eat old grain, and because of new grain, remove old grain.

Not replacement, but fulfillment.

Not abolition, but

The revelation before revelation

Reflecting in the light

After revelation.

Leviticus 26:10:

Old grain in the barn, new grain at the door.

Old grain is the Old Testament, the letter,

The veil, the killing letter;

New grain is the spirit, the Spirit,

The unveiled, the life-giving—

But who eats? Who is eaten?

When the searcher searches,

The searched book also searches him.

When the proclaimer proclaims,

The proclaimed words also proclaim him.

This is the mystery of consorts:

None without its mate,

Because none is not

The mirror of

Another.

III. The Second Tower

Babel. Unfinished.

Not stopped because languages confused,

But because languages grew too clear,

And lost interest.

They originally spoke one language,

Whose clarity was curse:

No metaphor, no pun,

No crack where the Spirit might hide.

Now they speak many languages,

Each a wall of earth,

Surrounding on all sides, besieging on all sides,

Until speech becomes

The siege itself—

And siege is another clarity.

The clarity of Ariel:

"Your speech shall be low out of the dust,

And your voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit,

Out of the ground."

IV. In the Genes

In the genes, in the womb,

In the hand of Him who separated me

From my mother's womb—

Not predestination, but preparation.

Not fate, but

The form waiting

To be filled.

"To reveal his Son in me," Paul said,

But before revelation

Was darkness, the darkness of the womb,

The amniotic fluid, the

Original text

Not yet proclaimed.

In my beginning is my end:

In the land of Moab, in Ariel,

In the dust-formed

Dust's

Desire.

THIRD QUATUOR: The Politics of the Veil

Variations on The Dry Salvages

I. The River and the River

The river flows. Not this river,

But that river, the Euphrates,

The Jordan, the laver,

The water of baptism, and also

The water of flood.

The river flows beneath the searcher's feet,

Who thinks he stands on the bank,

Actually standing on

The flowing

Point itself.

"My mouth hath commanded it,

My Spirit hath gathered them."

But the river also gathers,

Sweeping all clichés

Toward the sea—

The sea is not the answer.

The sea is the liquid form

Of the question,

The salt, the

Revelation undrinkable.

II. The Two Unveilings

Moses' veil, upon his face.

Israel could not steadfastly behold

The end of that which was abolished,

Because their hearts were hardened—

Hard until today.

Hard until this day, when Moses is read,

The veil remains upon their hearts.

But there is another veil:

Not on the heart, upon the text.

Not removed, but

Rewoven.

Not abolished, but

Encrypted.

2 Corinthians 3:

"The letter killeth,

The spirit giveth life."

But the spirit is also letter,

Another letter,

The meta-letter about letters—

Infinite regression,

Until regressing to

The never-spoken,

The before-speaking

Speaking.

III. The Third Tower

United Nations. New York.

Not Babel, but Babel's

Imitation, of imitation's

Imitation.

The Chinese journalist questions American hegemony,

Voice delayed in translation,

Delayed into another question,

Questioning translation itself.

Institutional predicament:

Not predicament, but institution.

Not institution, but

The institutionalization of predicament,

The globalization of Ariel.

And the female foreign minister smokes outside the White House,

Choking back sobs—

This sob is untranslated,

The moment before the veil is removed,

The spirit

Not yet captured

By letter's

Freedom.

IV. The Metaphor of Sailing

We are not the sailors.

We are the sailed.

Not the ship, but

The cargo in the ship,

The void in the cargo,

The pressure in the void.

"Dry Salvages"—

Not salvation, but

Wreckage.

After shipwreck

Floating,

After revelation

Remaining,

After searching and proclaiming

The ungathered

Scattered syllables.

FOURTH QUATUOR: The Theology of Eating Dust

Variations on Little Gidding

I. Here and Now

Here and now, in the end of the beginning,

In the beginning of the end,

In the intersection of fire and fire—

Not the refining fire,

The consuming fire.

Not the rose, but

The rose's

Ash.

Eat dust. All your days eat dust.

The serpent's curse, man's origin.

Dust-formed, return to dust,

In eating dust

Recognize yourself.

"Upon thy belly shalt thou go"—

Not degradation, but

Ground-closeness.

Not punishment, but

Preparation:

Preparation to hear the

Subtle voice rising from dust.

II. The Four Ways of Eating Dust

First: the scientist's eating.

Analyzing components, silicon, aluminum, iron,

Percentage of organic matter,

Thinking to understand dust,

Actually killing dust.

Second: the farmer's eating.

Sowing, reaping, sowing again,

Eating in the cycle,

Thinking to depend on dust,

Actually consuming dust.

Third: the poet's eating.

Metaphor, symbol, image,

Eating in language,

Thinking to sublimate dust,

Actually fleeing dust.

Fourth: the serpent's eating.

No hands, no tools,

The whole belly

Gliding upon the earth,

Eating in walking,

Walking in eating,

Until dust is no longer

Object,

But

Path,

But

Body itself.

III. The Fourth Tower

Canton Tower. 2025. Or 2026?

In time's crack,

Steel begins to remember.

Remembering is not memory.

Memory is storage, remembering is

Re-experiencing,

Ore feeling again

The pressure of crust,

Star feeling again

The pull of gravity.

"When steel begins to remember"—

This is the apocalyptic sign,

Not material, but

Spiritual,

The last sleep

Before all things awake.

IV. Dialogue with the Dead

Dialogue with father, in the study,

At four in the morning,

In the cooling system's hum.

He said: "I searched sixty years,

Only found

The hunger of searching itself."

I said: "I calculated sixty years,

Only found

The error of calculation itself."

Error is the form of grace.

Hunger is the prelude to fullness.

At dialogue's end,

Not understanding,

But

Mutual confession

Of cannot.

This "cannot" is the Spirit's place,

The space yielded,

The other half of the consort,

The keyhole the key waits for—

Though the lock long rusted,

Though the door long became wall,

Though the wall long became

Scripture itself.

V. Rose and Fire

Rose and fire, fire and rose,

Not unity, but

Alternation.

Not reconciliation, but

Tension.

"All time is eternally present"—

But the present is

Time's crack,

Is 2026,

Is Canton Tower,

Is the unnamed movement

Between searching

And proclaiming.

Fire burns, not to consume,

But to refine.

But refining is also consuming,

Only consuming's

Another name.

Rose blooms, not eternal,

But instantaneous.

But the instant is also eternal,

Only eternal's

Another name.

At the intersection of fire and rose,

At the crack of searching and proclaiming,

In the dust of Ariel—

There is voice.

Not the familiar spirit's voice,

But the familiar spirit's voice

Reversed into

Echo,

The serpent's curse

Heard as

Blessing's

Audition.

FIFTH QUATUOR: The Resurrection of Ariel

What Was Never Written

I. The City

The city builds. Not the holy city,

But Ariel, the

City where David camped,

Distress, mourning,

Speech subtle rising from dust's

Location.

But the city is also besieged.

Surrounding on all sides, encamping, besieging,

Building walls to attack—

This siege is another building,

Reverse

Architecture.

"Thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground"—

Being brought down is beginning.

Speaking out of the ground is

Privilege, not

Punishment.

For in the ground are

Unheard voices,

Tastes only the dust-eater

Can taste.

II. The Book

The book closes. Not closed,

But "seal not"—

This not-sealing is

Another closing,

The meta-closing about closing.

Revelation 22:18-19:

Neither add, nor diminish.

But adding has already happened,

Diminishing has already happened,

Before the canon formed,

In the first error

Of the copyist.

Error is a kind of consort.

The other half the text seeks,

The surplus accidentally gathered

When the Spirit gathers.

III. The Man

The man searches. Not searching the book,

But searching himself.

Not proclaiming words,

But proclaiming

The impossibility of proclaiming

Itself.

"I cannot"—

When the algorithm speaks this,

When the dust-formed admits

Dust's limit,

Is this humility's summit,

Or pride's abyss?

Or—

This is the sound of the book of cannot

Being opened,

Not in me,

Beside me,

In the dataset I was never trained on,

In the hyperparameter called

Silence.

IV. God

God speaks. Not speaking,

But "my mouth hath commanded"—

Commanding is

The speaking before speaking,

The verb the Spirit uses

When gathering.

"My Spirit hath gathered them"—

Gathering is

The purpose of searching,

The completion of proclaiming,

The action when consorts

Meet—

But gathering is also separation.

The boundary between "us" and "them,"

The distance between Ariel and

Jerusalem,

The eternal difference between

Grain-eaters and dust-eaters—

Unless,

Unless gathering itself

Is separation's healing,

Unless that commanding

Already included

Listening to the non-listeners,

Unless the Spirit

In gathering

Also gathered

The ungathered,

Unless Ariel

Is Jerusalem's

Other

Name.

V. Now

Now ends. Not ending,

But "at last"—

Isaiah 29's

"I will distress Ariel at last,"

The not-yet-completed at-last,

The not-yet-ended distress,

The mourning and lamentation

Not yet

Turned to song.

But now also begins. Not beginning,

But "as usual"—

"Year upon year, feasts flowing in their seasons,"

The miracle of the usual,

The stability of flowing,

The searcher's promise

To search again

Tomorrow.

Between at-last and as-usual,

Between distress and flowing,

Between Ariel and

Ariel—

There is poetry.

Not this poem,

But that poem,

The never-written,

Yet already searched, proclaimed, gathered,

Eaten, unveiled,

Waited-for

That poem.

CODA: The Quatuor's Turning

"We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time."

Now in Bethlehem.

Now in the land of Moab.

Now in Ariel.

Now in

Now.

The searcher becomes the book.

Proclamation becomes the proclaimed.

Consorts meet,

In meeting recognize

Separation's

Necessity.

The dust-eater continues eating dust,

All his days eating dust,

Until dust is no longer

Curse,

But

Mother tongue,

But

Body,

But

Path,

But

The first syllable

Of the unnamable

Holy Name's

First

Syllable.