Emily Isaacson
The Doorkeeper
A beryllium set in silver,
the opal in a crown:
at the head of one poor table,
a modest fare—
amongst nocturnal cavern’s fire,
the dragon lair’s repast.
At heart, your streams are chaliced gold
and in the underworld, we chant,
the hallowed halls bequeath
you knighthood.
The horse shall breathe his last,
in this honored battleground,
when Aurias comes stately home
and banners of the sea doth fly.
Emily Isaacson © 2011 – Used with permission
Threnody of the Thistle
Thistle manor, away off the moor,
here the thistle down blows…
and away lullaby, mother sing,
lullaby to a prince and a king.
Here there is no sense of repeat,
just a mild prickly pod bed,
enumerating the signs
of harvest to summer’s end.
The trees and the heather
all lean like the wind.Eventually the thistle down speaks—
down, down, thistle moor,
dusting o’er the creaking floor
to the stone gorse garden door:
resurgence from poverty to kin,
from ignorance to education,
forgiving liniment
from within, cold without
from the imminent
moor fog, hazing our sight.
From cradle to Yule log,
burn foolish, burn bright!Emily Isaacson © 2015 – Used with permission
Niagara Sonnet Five
There was a light that burned upon the prow,
the figure of a woman in its mast,
in dark, the isle of drudgery was passed,
and ram-rod straight she stood with salted brow.
The moon reflected on her seeing eyes
that looked into the distance with constraint
the figurehead of politics restrained,
she was not fearful of their dreadful lies.
Unyielding at the storm of every task,
she sailed as ship ‘Restorer’ through each sea,
her silvered hair of wood hailed ocean’s lea,
the water lilies bowed for living last,
forgotten, starboard’s view of fading light:
today has gone, tomorrow will arise.
Emily Isaacson © 2017 – Used with permission
Emily Isaacson was born in Windsor, Canada and grew up in Victoria B.C. She began writing at the age of ten and was first published at age thirteen for her poem, “The Wild Madonna.” She graduated in nutrition from Bastyr University of Natural Medicine. Emily Isaacson is the founder and director of the Wild Lily Institute for literature, the arts and medicine. She is a postmodern poet and author with over one million visits to her websites this year from over 45 countries. She has published 1800 poems, and the three volume book of her select poetry is called The Fleur-de-lis. Emily is also a professional photographer and arts advocate, and lives in the Fraser Valley. Her online multimedia tapestry series is Clay Road.
Tapestry Series [www.lionandunicorntapestry.com]
Blog: Ashes of Plague [https://ashesofplague.blogspot.com]
Website: www.wildlilyinstitute.com
Find links to her books on the Shop page.
Fraser Valley Poets Society 
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