by Howard Hain

Raphael, “School of Athens”, 1509-11, Vatican Museums, Raphael’s Rooms, Room of the Segnatura
.
I see you there
Somewhere near the back
Hiding
Thinking no one can see
A priest
A prophet
A king to be
———
Socrates?
A profile
Like the head on a coin
Another good man
Snubbed for what he knows
Can’t see your face
Not fully
Say the least
Though perhaps
We too would die
A drop of hemlock
Is hard to swallow
———
Like that fine-feathered friend
All philosophers are
Little birds
Not too fat to fly
Aerial feeders
Circumventing the globe
Following truth
Wherever it go
———
Plato?
Yes
Now you
We see for sure
After all
Like a son
You and Socrates
Your father figure
Setting up shop
Hanging out
A common shingle
Hard to distinguish
In fact
The fiction
Son from Pop
One generation
Stumbles upon truth
The next
All about father’s business
Selling sovereignty
The sovereignty of Good
Not by peddling answers
By asking simple questions
———
Aristotle?
Yes
He made the frame
The third person
The younger brother of sorts
In some sense
Stealing the show
A third amigo
A sort of philosophic trinity
Aristotle the great
Teaching emperors to be
A bright bronze star
Mentioned last
Never least
A meta-physician
Looking not to the past
He expanded business
Once Plato left the scene
Pointing the way
He thought it should go
Down to earth
Keep it real
Hover low
Eyes on substance
On the truth below
———
Quite a team
These three musketeers
Sharp whiskers
Well-trained tongues
Doubled-edged swords
Wielded about
In universal hands
Yet many others
Names we might know
The great wall of knowledge
An army
To remain
The great unknown
———
Truth
Beauty
The noble pursuit
Lady Wisdom
Her many lovers
And each takes her as his own
A cloud of witnesses
Testifying one truth
The Communion of Saints
Under a different kind of roof
———
Look at that structure
Who built the arch?
It overrides
Every branch of the tree
If colored
It’d be a rainbow
Yes
That once great sign
Now brought so low
Meant so much
Primary color
Fragmented light
Quite a choice
Magic marker
Cross the sky
God’s endless love of life
A sacrament
One might say
A sign
As natural as natural can be
The offspring of union
A pledge
A covenant
A promise
The kind that brings new life
Adam
Then Eve
Woman created
From the lonely side of man
To lovers
Of such wisdom
Truth is clear
The rainbow redeemed
It will once more
Point to the sun
After yet another storm
The fullness of noon
Its rightful place
Where nothing disordered
Continues to loom
———
Welcome home
Child of wonder
Come on in
The water’s warm
Jump high
Up over the frame
Roman columns
Marble floor
Robes in many shades
Your heart
Away from home
Bring nothing more
Leave your sandals
At the door
A burning bush
Holy ground
Children at play
A clubhouse of truth
Safe and sound
Slides and swings
Monkey bars
Hang on tight
Hold on loose
No possessions
Got to share
Acts
Appreciation
Sons of liberty
Daughters of revolution
The mulberry tree
What’s that?
Your degree?
Of such things
We just don’t care
———
Poetry
Completely still
Motion
In dialogue
Statues
Alive
Silent features
Arch
And texture
Every detail
All one view
Did you hear?
Have you seen?
The latest
No not the news
What’s truly new
Not the fleeting
Nor the slice
Not cutting edge
What’s new is old
All under the sun
Originality
Yesterday
Genesis just begun
Just a few rules
Keep perspective
A frame
If you will
A type of kind
Boundless
Creativity
Yes
But not for sale
Bring what’s prized
Not the least
Only one item
The book of life
———
God became man
Truly human
Not veneer
Truth among us
Not to abolish
Bring to fullness
Humanistic pursuit
The glory of God
Made manifest
In man’s pursuit
Of God Himself
———
Jesus
In disguise
The philosopher’s cloak
Reaching upward
To shake His own hand
At the right side
God the Father

Raphael, “School of Athens”, 1509-11, Vatican Museums, Raphael’s Rooms, Room of the Segnatura
.