For Ryan

Smile. Madness is but a game:
A charm to each barrier's border:
The shine of the alien flame
Of the vague horizons we must shoulder.

In the electric stars of the city square
There shone a moon I did not recognize:
A gibbous of a lone knight's stare
That mirrored me a paradise.

(chorus)
A helm of pearl that was the day,
A sword that was the key
To the winged marble doorway
To the gold of the siren sea.

A shield that was a dream
Of an angel's blessed sight.
Eyes of a sacred field's sun-soaked green
That dimmed the city of her light.

A mystery near the fountain's plume
That whispered the lightning's crack:
A storm of an odd Heaven's perfume
In his mantled of shining black.

I lay me down to the altar of the shrine
Where all praise the dawning light
That is the lustrous haloed shine:
The armor of the knight.

(chorus)
A helm of pearl that was the day,
A sword that was the key
To the winged marble doorway
To the gold of the siren sea.