Delighting in Dante

In this episode we enjoy some different editions of Dante and a poem of mine in response to his work. Here's my poem: In Medias Res And so I start again, here in the middle, The middle of a life I scarcely know, How many guesses left to get the riddle? The woods are dark and darker shadows grow. I followed someone here, but lost her leading, With nothing but my lostness left to show. The voice that drew me on is faint and fading, But something else is creeping up behind, Over whose heart, I wonder, are we treading? My shadow-beasts can scent, though they are blind, All three are here, the leopard, lion, wolf, My kith and kin, the emblems of my kind. They’ve come to draw me back across the gulf Back from the path I wanted to have chosen. Fall back, they call, you can’t run from yourself Fall to the place where every hope is frozen… But not his time, this time I choose to choose The other path, path of the dead and risen, To try the hidden heart of things, to let go, lose, To lose myself and find again the voice That called and drew me here, my freeing muse. Begin again she calls, you have the choice, Little by little, you can travel far, Learn to lament before you can rejoice Sing to the shadows, sing and do not fear But sing them into love little by little Begin the song exactly where you are. And so I start again here in the middle. If you are enjoying these little episodes and would like, on occasion (not every time!) to drop sound and buy me a coffee, you can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/malcolmguite