Glass of Stars

Glass of Stars

Whirl in whirl in

in the dance of stars;

Spin the table or

let the table spin you,

say the warding words

better, write them faster

deeper, in something bitter

and sweet as the old Widow's

fizz, her finger dipped

in larceny, lime and sugar,

a yeasty effervescence flourished
like a lacy bubbled flag of air and stars,

the press of love in the heavy glass

a vintage stood on its head

in the riddling rack, troubled

and twisted day by day, until

the acidulated dregs 
of its primitive self drop
like galled stones

rolled away when that last
bit of sweetness comes

that floats the vessel
finally full.

As  I dip my finger

to write your name on my heart

an empathy of shooting stars rattles down

filling my glass in the cold night.

December 2011

The riddling rack is an invention for the proper fermentation and mass production of champagne, credited to the formidable Widow Cliquot and her cellar master in the 19th century, per wikipedia: "...Composed much like a wooden desk with circular holes, the rack allowed a bottle of wine to be stuck sur point or upside down. Every day a cellar assistant would gently shake and twist (remuage) the bottle to encourage wine solids to settle to the bottom. When this was completed. the cork was carefully removed, the sediments ejected, and a small replacement dose of sweetened wine added."



Header Image: Meteor Shower, by Nilo Merino Recalde on flick'r
Footer Image: Label, Veuve Cliquot Champagne
via google image search