American Semele (Edit)

A cozy house's doorway bore a girl Swaddled in white and cradled by warm air Down earthward steps with the attendant twirl Of the wind's fingers in her perfect hair. Seeking enlightenment she went away And found dark learning in a stranger's bed But wept at the forbidding ring that lay On his right hand that lay on her pale head. He cast her into cold and urban night To wander down the streets of men who'd pay, With dyed hair that pure wind no longer twirled. The alleys' ghost, despairing for the light That heaven hid from her with smoggy gray, She knew herself betrayed into the world.