At the Throne of the Third Heaven

i.

 Sweet little queen of spades 

Strange little stone heart 

A chestnut! 

The architectural fragments 

Of gone civilizations, like 

The beaded silverware of a king 

Now in a museum. 

He’s got snakes on his head 

And Buddhist dancing girls 

Surround him. 

 ii. 

 How different it looks 

My second time in the throne 

Of the third heaven 

 Last date 

In the tin-foil palace 

Of silver and gold where 

Religious balls hover 

And flying wings wing 

 Fear not! Hampton sings 

In my garage 

I am a Saint 

And God is the king. 

 iii. 

 Now in my ososad apartment 

With the found fens rose 

Long gone Sharon 

Off over tea W

e stared at each other 

Over Aphrodite 

Wrote a poem together 

And I realized 

I was a turkey 

 How small in the third heaven 

I am an altar boy 

Lighting candles 

Everyday more revelation.

-- Jack Vaughan