The Office (A Poem)

I am a book

A weapon

A yoke

You know this

You must!

You set my ribbons in place

Firmly, grasping at the words within

Gasping at the “Glory Be”

Slipping into slumber

As the world turns

I sit on my shelf

My pages unturned,

Containing within myself

Liturgy! The Word of God spoken! A life worth living

Oh but why do you ignore me?

Adore all else until the last light

Forces you awake

Asleep in my pages

You lie.

I see frustration burrowing within you

Pages drifting out of your spine as you

Forget.

Who you are?

What you’ve done?

Then all you can do is heave

Your rot-less husk of a hardback

Into your shelf and open

Me. I. Your friend and your mentor.

Your closest ally and your starkest reality.

It is I, bound in this menial leather,

That is freest.

And you will again fall asleep,

Many hours forgotten,

Unwritten.

Unspoken.

Not so much prayed as endured. Not so much spoken as sighed.

The Medal of St. Benedict (A Prayer)

Crux s. patris Benedicti 

The Cross of our holy father Benedict

Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur! 

May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death!

Crux sancta sit mihi lux

Let the Holy Cross be my light

Non draco sit mihi dux

Let not the dragon be my guide

Vade retro satana

Step back Satan

Numquam suade mihi vana

Never tempt me with vain things

Sunt mala quae libas

What you offer me is evil

Ipse venena bibas

You drink the poison yourself.

St. Patrick's Rune (A Prayer)

At Tara, in this fateful hour,
I call on Heaven with all its power,
And the Sun with its brightness,
And the Snow with its whiteness,
And the Fire with all the strength it hath,
And the Lightning with its rapid wrath,
And the Winds with their swiftness along their path,
And the Sea with its deepness,
And the Rocks with their steepness,
And the Earth with its starkness.
All these, I place
By God's Almighty help and grace
Between myself and the powers of Darkness.

The Lorica of St. Patrick

Photo by: D. L. Piscoya

I arise today:

in vast might,

invocation of the Trinity,

belief in a threeness,

confession of oneness,

meeting in the Creator. 

I arise today:

in the might

of Christ’s birth and his baptism,

in the might

of his crucifixion and burial,

in the might

of his resurrection and ascension,

in the might

of his descent to the judgment of doom. 

I arise today:

in the might of cherubim,

in obedience of angels,

in ministrations of archangels,

in hope of resurrection,

in prayers of patriarchs,

in predictions of prophets,

in preachings of apostles,

in faith of confessors,

in innocence of holy virgins. 

I arise today:

in the might of heaven,

splendor of the sun,

whiteness of snow,

irresistibleness of fire,

swiftness of lightning,

speed of wind,

absoluteness of the deep,

rock’s durability. 

I arise today:

in the might of God for my piloting,

power of God for my stability,

wisdom of God for my guidance,

eye of God for my foresight,

ear of God for my hearing,

word of God for my word,

hand of God for my guard,

path of God for my prevention,

shield of God for my protection,

host of God for my salvation,

against any demon’s snare,

against all vice’s lure,

against concupiscence,

against ill-wishes far and near. 

I invoke all these forces:

between me and every savage force

that may come upon me, body or soul.

against incantations of false prophets,

against black lairs of paganism,

against false laws of heresy,

against idolatry, spells of women, and druids;

against all knowledge that should not be known. 

Christ for my guard today:

against poison, against burning,

against drowning, against wounding,

that there may come to me merit.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, Christ in me,

Christ under me, Christ over me,

Christ to the right, Christ to the left,

Christ in lying down, in sitting, in rising up;

Christ in all who may think of me!

Christ in the mouth of all who may speak to me!

Christ in the eye that may look on me!

Christ in the ear that may hear me! 

I arise today:

in vast might,

invoking the Trinity

believing in a threeness,

confessing a oneness,

meeting in the Creator.

From the Lord is salvation; in the Lord is safety.

Be thy right way, Lord, ever with us!

Reach Me a Rose (A Poem)

Reach me a rose

With the formless grace

Of olfactory sunlight

Reach me a rose

Heaped with blooms

Spread like wings

In this valley of ashes

Reach me a rose

Filled with faces dead and

Gone Filled with friends

Gone now and forever

Reach me a rose

Explained by the ferocious

Delicacy and single-mindedness

Of the man I want to be.

~D.L. Piscoya