Sublimation
~ Xenophonic Symposium, l. 8-10
When Autolycus entered, reverence stilled
The room. The men were moved as if a wave
Of quiet washed through hearts and bodies, filled
Them gently, cleansing. He became a nave—
And worship filled it calmly. Rather, he
Emerged the only lamp in arches there,
There in that holy place where men could see
His beauty. They and he became a prayer
Of gods together. All the men became
A deeper calmness, each inside his chest.
They each became a purity that shame
Could not approach. They stopped all posing, blessed
With inner meaning — men became, each one,
The essence of Apollo’s lyre-like sun.