Eight: Doctrine (poetry series)
Doctrine
They said there was a sage and revered man
Who for his vows spoke never, but did chant
The psalms, his mien aloft of earthly cares
And soul among the blessed…this was known
A bird of fields, he, counted it a break with God
A deeper thing than ordinary sin
To have taken thought for his next meal
When in the villages illness came or famine
Ah, then did they beseech his prayers and oft
Were there any crust of bread to share
Bade him be sated, his sainted lips, their cup
A living mystic’s relic borne in awe
To the sick-bed, whence his miracles gained fame
They said his arm-bone measured a golden mean
That, for the sake of sanctity, it came to be
That of the abbey dedicated to his name
Each block was hewn, fit flush to this same length
They said that war, when veiled anciennes
Alone still told the ordered words of orison
And fasted Wednesdays, lest the deity forsake them
War machines, made by men whose gods were other men
Had crushed and set aflame the charted layerings
It was no more the faithful had been asked
Than trust of Will, in webs of the Divine
This math, of a greater power’s design
In symmetry and intricate
Bloom on bloom
Feather on feather
Wave on wave
All puzzle-cut in plainest sight before our eyes
The hermit’s holy measure moved to garden walls
And street pavers
Doctrine
Hacked Back
The Dispensing
(2019, Stephanie Foster)