Kaleidoscope is the first in a series of ten volumes to be published over the next ten years as a complement to an online hypermedia edition of the Collected Works of P. K. Page. Listed chronologically by date of composition, the poetry in Kaleidoscope is fluid, wondrous and technically exquisite, drawing on subjects great and small, and it offers a comprehensive look at one of Canada's most beloved and brilliant poets.
Seraphim In the dream it was the seraphim who camegolden, six-wingedwith eyes of aquamarineand set my hair aflameand spoke in a language which written down -- an elegant script of candelabras and chalices -- spelled out my name but it was not my name The mornings following were bright as wingssky's intricate cirrusthe feathers under his wingsthe wind's great rushthe bladed beat of his wings Mare's tails traced the passage of his seraphic chariot Hummingbirds ruby-throated roared and brakedin the timeless isinglass air and burned like coalshigh in the fronds of a brass palm sunbirds sanggirasoles swung their cadmium-coloured hairand I heard the seraphim telling once againthe letters of my name but my name was lost in the spoken syllables by Summer, 1976 1997.
Content Note
For G.E.R.Ecce HomoThe CrowEmergenceDesiring OnlyThe MoleCullenPersonal LandscapeThe StenographersBank StrikeThe LandladyAs Ten As TwentyOfficesThe Flower and the RockThe Bands and the Beautiful ChildrenElementStories of SnowAdolescenceElection DayIf It Were YouRound TripThis Cold ManOnly ChildOutcastsPuppetsYoung GirlsMan with One Small HandParanoidHe loved himself too much. As a child was god.Thunder stemmed from his whims,The Permanent TouristsPortrait of MarinaReflection in a Train WindowThe MapGiantsPhotos of a Salt MineThe AppleThe Masks are Made by Hand and ShowThe EventThe keys all turned to that eventImages of AngelsT-BarSocial NoteOrdinary people are lovely, they understandArrasThe Metal and the FlowerThis Frieze of BirdsChimney FireWar Lord in the Early EveningGiovanni and the IndiansAfter RainThe Glass AirBark DrawingCook's MountainsKnittersBrazilian HouseOn Educating the NativesRageTruceThis Whole Green WorldA WishSome Paintings by PortinariVotive CandlesNatural History MuseumCould I Write a Poem Now?Brazilian FazendaCry Ararat!Dark KingdomThe SnowmanA Backwards JourneyAnother SpaceThose people in a circle on the sandFly: On WebsKnitter's PrayerTravellers' PalmAnachronismEcologyThree Gold FishBeside YouLet the Honey AccumulateNeighboursPicking DaffodilsLeather JacketPreparationThe Yellow People in MetamorphosisStefanMasqueradersSpinningShamanFinches FeedingAncestorsThe Trail of BreadMacumba: BrazilPhone Call from MexicoSeraphimDwelling PlaceThe Flower BedA Grave IllnessThe SelvesMotel PoolThe DisguisesDomestic Poem for a Summer AfternoonAbout DeathAfter Reading Albino Pheasants by Patrick LaneEvening Dance of the Grey FliesMessageThe First Part (excerpt)George Johnston ReadingEntreatyOut Here: FloweringStar-GazerThe Filled PenCustodianOursThis SkyIntraocular Lens Model 103GConcentrationDeaf Mute in the Pear TreeInvisible Presences Fill the AirVisitantsThe New BicycleSufferingThe GiftThe Hidden ComponentsKaleidoscopeLily on the PatioThis Heavy CraftChinookConversationThe WorldAddress at Simon Fraser (excerpt)The EndLove's PavilionPlanet EarthPresencesAutumnThe Gold SunPoor BirdHologramThe CastleFuneral MassThe Hidden RoomLike a Cruise ShipRequest to the AlchemistBut We Rhyme in HeavenPain to His HelperAlphabetical (excerpt)CosmologiesEven LuciferPoem Canzonic with love to AMKAh, by the Golden LiliesThe Blue GuitarGreen, How Much I Want You GreenHand Luggage (excerpt)My Chosen LandscapeCoal and Roses -- A Triple GlosaYour Slightest LookHow to Write a PoemParadiseCullen in the Afterlife.