Indwelling (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, March 8, 2020, feast day of Saint Manuel Míguez González, of the (above) Kursk-Root ("the Sign") Icon of the Mother of God, and Sunday of Orthodoxy.)

Indwelling 

But ask... and the fish of the sea 

will declare to you. -Job 12: 7-8

Shell tell,

Sea speak.

You'll tell it true,

this thing I seek.

This nestled space

of ocean carved.

This safest place.

My soul is starved,

for luminous,

spacious,

home serene. 

What you have known.

What you have seen. As

storms, 

they've

swept

         on

             through.   

So

Shell tell,

Sea speak.

You'll tell it true,

this thing I seek.

*Synchronicity: June 10, 2023 happened come across this--right after Joseph's gift of miniature shell : )

Sap-Rise (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, published in Writers at Play Presents: The Art of Letter Writing, edited by Daisy Barrett-Nash, Equal Arts, 2023. From February 10, 2020, Tu B'Shevet (the New Year for Trees), feast day of the Fire-appearing (Areovindus) Icon of the Mother of God (above), and feast day of Saint Scholastica.)

Sap-Rise

My way of handling city dweller's angst is to get in touch with a tree. Trees keep us grounded in the true reality so that we don't get shaken by the confusion that surrounds us. -- Chaya Shuchat, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: a Tu B'Shevat Meditation

 

Sap rise

as roots keep

this sun's eye

of warmth deep.

Sap rise

as roots seep,

this breeze to sweep

this sky to weep.

Sap rise

as roots are meet.

To share this pulse,

to ask, to keep, it's

asking much.

It's wakened sleep,

to Sun's eye

of warmth deep.

*Poem inspired by Tu B'Shevet classes, such as Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser's Time and Space According to G-d, via Hidabroot, Petach Tikvah, Israel; and classes and articles at Chabad.org, Brooklyn, New York.

Censing Prayer (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, July 20, 2020, feast day of the Prophet Elijah, and the Chukhloma Icon of the Mother of God. Poem inspired by Esther de Waal's class An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality, via St Paul's Cathedral, London, England.)

Censing Prayer

Bless, O Lord, mine eye,

       Let mine eye bless all it sees.*

Bless, O Lord, mine ear,

        Let mine ear bless all it hears.

Bless, O Lord, mine mouth,

        Let mine mouth bless all it speaks.

Bless, O Lord, mine hand,

        Let mine hand bless all it holds.

Bless, O Lord, mine foot,

        Let mine foot bless 'ere it tread.

Bless, O Lord, this day,

          From morning dew 'till bed.

                                                Amen.

*Verse from a Celtic prayer at least 200 years old, from the Carmina Gadelica (vol. III, v.266-7).

Angel Prayer (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, July 6, 2020, feast day of Saint Maria Teresa Goretti. Image from here. )

Angel Prayer

Michael at right,

Love of God,

hear us.

Gabriel at left,

Strength of God,

rear us.

Uriel ahead,

Light of God,

steer us.*

Raphael at back,

Healing of God,

cheer us.

Sheltering Wings,

Presence of God,

Ever be

Thou near us.

Amen.

*This prayer poem is based on traditional qualities of the archangels, coupled with verses from the Siddur's Bedtime Shema (Kriyat Shema She'al Hamitah): "To my right Michael and to my left Gabriel, in front of me Uriel and behind me Raphael, and over my head God's Shekhinah".

Just to note however, the Talmud (Numbers Rabbah 2:10) interchanges the positions of Uriel and Gabriel. From the Wikipedia entry Angels in Judaism: "As the Holy One blessed be He created four winds (directions) and four banners (for Israel's army), so also did He make four angels to surround His Throne--Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. Michael is on its right, corresponding to the tribe of Reuben; Uriel on its left, corresponding to the tribe of Dan, which was located in the north; Gabriel in front, corresponding to the tribe of Judah as well as Moses and Aaron who were in the east; and Raphael in the rear, corresponding to the tribe of Ephraim which was in the west."

Cantillation (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, July 7, 2020, translation of the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God to Russia)

Cantillation

(upon viewing the Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God)

Today, a verse comes.

"Pain is. A cup too full."

Frozen, Storming. Like 

that's all there is.

And it’s true.

Today, a verse thrums.

"Pain is a cup. Too full."

Debris, Churning.

Unraveled, could breathe.

And it's true.

Today, a verse hums.

"Pain is a cup too. Full."

Breathing, now. Waters stir.

How is it, He dwells here too.

And it's true.

*Cantillation marks are a sort of melodic overlay given to the text of Torah scrolls when they are chanted aloud. These marks also lend sentence structure...critical since ancient Hebrew is without vowels, capital letters or punctuation. Cantillation marks are seen as "flavors" giving taste to a text, pointing to the soul of the words. A sentance's structure hints at its deeper meanings. No wonder then the variations, the wide range of Bible commentaries. Some call it unity in diversity. Even opposites, in this view, aren't a horizontal opposition, but rather a vertical set of layers. Different levels of meaning for one whole. 

Light-Dwell (WC)

 

(Wendy Cabell, December 5, 2020, feast day of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (who is connected with the above Milk-Giver Icon of the Mother of God and others), and the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism". Image from here.)

Light-Dwell

                        Yashab,

                    Hebrew root 

                               word:

                              to sit 

                             dwell

                            settle

                           keep

as the Babe lies

in the Mother's arms--

cradle; as they glow 

now, these walls

of home.

*inspired by Sister Mary's (later insert: who is remembered as happen to revisit this poem today, May 30, 2023, in wake of her passing on April 20, 2023) class: Pray Without Ceasing, via Monastery of St Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho, throughout November 2020; by Laura Da's Quarantine Write-in class via Hugo House, Seattle, Washington, November-December 2020; and by Abbey of the Arts' "self paced" class Give Me a Word, Galway, Ireland.)

In-lap (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, July 22, 2020, feast days of Saints Mary Magdelene and Markella of Chios (wonderfully mothered), and Rosh Chodesh. Image from here.)

In-lap

Vast

Is the lap

   of the Virgin,

Emmanuel its

Light --

             Like water

                After

       Moon,

Be near

*A couple touchstones formed over the years, in order to "hold" in hand at night when pain keeps awake.

Desktop Prayer (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, August 2, 2020, feast day of (above) Saint Elijah in old calendar Eastern Orthodox Church, and Peter Faber in Catholic. Image from here.)

Desktop Prayer

(after Clare Munkres)

Lord of page and ink and things

Since I’ve not the umph to be

A saint by doing saintly things

Like hours spent on knee or

Wakening by light of dawn or

Getting dressed by ten,

Make me a saint seeking Your muse and

Playing with this pen.

Although I may have weary hands, 

I have an open mind

And when I skate yon spacious page,

Thy roadmaps Lord I find.

I think of how You formed the earth,

Your Word its very core           

Accept this meditation Lord,

I haven’t rhyme for more.

Warm all these scribblings with Thy love,

And light them with Thy peace

Forgive me all my rewrites and make

My ramblings cease.

Thou who didst love to give men verse,

In room or by the sea

Accept this service that I do,

I do it unto Thee.

Amen.

*From prompt: craft a copycat poem (I chose Clare Munkres' Kitchen Prayer, as challenged by Doug Yunker, Tuesday Writers Group (Waldport, Oregon), August 2, 2020.

Knitterwoman God (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, August 14, 2020, forefeast of the Dormition/Assumption of the Mother of God. Poem inspired by the (July -August) 2020 Jesuit Week Retreat via Knock Shrine, Ireland.)

Knitterwoman God

(After Renee Bozarth; a meditation on Psalm 138)

Knower of my frame 

tangled threads, snarled

breaths, how I have marred

Your handiwork,

Your hands, soft, strong

O wonder!, do tend.

Unfurl, sweep 

sort. Til peace

reweaves. Even stronger 

than before. How is it,

breathing now, Cure. Curio. Curious

'bout this thing within me. This

tiny seed. This cure you 

spun 

before 

this mess 

ever came

to be.

Knitterwoman God

shake, smooth me

out. 'Till settled once more, Your

love wraps 'round. Warms this 

quilt fresh mended. This story 

unended. Ever.

Knitterwoman God,

remake.

Amen.

*See Renee Bozarth's Bakerwoman God

Hilltop Prayer (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, August 21, 2020, feastday of Our Lady of Knock, afterfeast of the Dormition/Assumption, and Rosh Chodesh. Image of Our Lady of Knock, from here

 

Hilltop Prayer

Behold the Lamb

for the Lamb will conquer

and the woman clothed

   in the the sun

will shine Her light

on everyone.

Behold the Lamb

for He stands and knocks,

     "Whoever shall open,

              I will enter,

         and sup with him".

Behold the Lamb

for the Lamb will conquer

and the woman clothed

    in the sun

will shine Her light

on everyone.

Amen.

* In the Irish village of Knock, which means hill, there was an apparition in 1879 (see here). Dana Scallon later memorialized this in a hymn, Lady of Knock, which stanzas one and three of above poem are based on, and they in turn based on Revelation 17:14 and 12:1. Stanza two is based on Revelation 3:20.

* Poem inspired by the general experience (through both classes/retreats and Mass) of the lovely Knock Shrine, Ireland.