TIME, INFINITY, AND ETERNITY, DESCEND UPON A BLACK DERBY HAT

Vicious and sincere, The black derby hat flaunts itself Upon the head of an amateur libertine. The libertine is a nervous rascal Asking too many favors From one spear-point exalted by men, But the black derby hat, Poised and incorruptible, Curves its black no to the senses. To those who cannot see, The black derby hat is only a sugar-bowl Turned upside-down and out of place, Or one of many crowns Bestowing their ugly pathos Upon the struggle of a nation, Or the way in which a dreamer Pitifully says hello to the stars, Or a symbol of bulky manhood Swaggering in an ancient trap. But to eyes that can look beyond The surface rites of America Bending over bargain-counters of flesh, The black derby hat is an alabaster Sentinel, defending its realm Against the pompous indifference Of Time, Infinity, and Eternity. The black derby hat is an outline of earth, Bold and abrupt, remaining Indifferent to the desperate commands Of sex and greed, and he who wears it Is only a helpful accident Bringing publicity to the hat. Uncompromising, the black derby hat Suggests the blunt isolation of intellect, And yet it may have been made By some weak serf of emotion. From the contact of incongruities Life evolves the more perfect shape, And so, the black derby hat, Gliding through the frantic defeats Of a city street, Coolly protects its realm Against the scarecrow-contempt Of Time, Infinity, and Eternity.