Eighty, Goat Street Poem by Emmanuel George Cefai

That address
Exuberant
- said the young man
- -let’s go.

But then
The others said
Where?
Do we know?

Said the young man
‘Of life’s virtues
We
Are laden in their glory
To us to know as to all
It be to know.’

‘We go, we go, ’
Shouted the multitude
The young multitude.

So in a troupe
They all; went
Searching
Searching intelligently

The street was found
The house they found
Yet it was closed.

‘So how go we in? ’
Said a youth
‘Shall we throw
The door in? ’

‘No, that’s never way.
If all do so, wars will
Fade, peace have the day.’
We knock and civilly
Though persistently

And so they did
Till from the cobweb
Balcony
A head with horns
They saw come out
And told them
‘I come’

Opened the door
The Figure with Horns
Stood all erect
And all saw
In with respect
Went they.

Long, long inside
Remained they
For dusk was red
And dusk had gone
And the night lamps
They lighted
The stars were out
The moon was out
The waves and seas delighted
And slept the town
And dreamt the town
When
By themselves
Through open door
They went
And all talked
About all new things
Ideas they had learnt
And
Into this our Earth
They went
And told of wondrous things
And men who heard
Closed eyes and smiled
And men told other men
What wealth
What civilization what
Pride
In the sub-conscious lay
And how their life had
Changed
In but a single day
In but a single day.