The Magicians
The Magicians
Nathaniel A. Schmidt
Torch-flames crackle their sparkling light
off sandstone bricks cloaked in darkness
as three Persian sorcerers ascend steps
spiraling up through a tower to their study.
Once in this scholarly turret,
they throw open a window to confirm:
Yes! The faint sheen of that new star still shines.
From this vantage far over the city,
the songs of young princes feasting with wine,
the cooing of lovers in brothels and bowers,
and the groans of workers aching in bed
sound mute; only the oceans of heaven,
the tides of comets and constellations,
remain – as the desert extends into the night.
Since birth, these men have devoted themselves
to understanding the cosmos, peering
curious eyes toward the planets’ domain
where Scorpio, Virgo, and Leo rule
every step of the dance in the plots of men’s lives.
What secret does this new light conceal?
all three of them see, in itself a miracle
amidst the noise and infinity of our world
as Nature still proclaims its sole refrain: I exist.
Soon, long, nubby, fingers scan over
ancient parchment scrolls fetched from libraries,
Alexandria’s astrographs, Athens’ Aristotle,
the sagas of Gilgamesh and Báal,
though as each letter on these relics is discerned
the ink they read acts like a cloud of smoke –
the evidence of fire but not the flame –
while still this celestial Spirit gleams
as these magi stroke their tightly curled beards.
It’s as if some Divine beckons to their senses
with an arcane language their hearts know well,
leading them through tall stacks of paper on their desks
until they stumble upon a prophet’s lost words:
But you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
from you shall come a shepherd, a ruler,
implying a test – Is it true? This newborn star
appears intent on shaping the story
as these men pack their bags with bread and offering,
abandoning their temples and betraying lords
to head out into the wasteland toward Judah
to meet slaves subdued by Babylon, Persia, Rome,
all for a thing they’ve seen, a word they’ve heard,
bringing us to a place of wondering – Why?
if but to behold this Light incarnate.
Nathaniel A. Schmidt
Poet & Chaplain
Nathaniel serves as a chaplain within the Christian Reformed Church. His first collection of poems, An Evensong, is available from Wipf and Stock. Currently, he lives in Muskegon, MI, with his librarian wife, Lydia, meaning life is a perpetual story-time.
Photography by Linus Sandvide