To Ancient Irish Song And Lament As Unto God

for you, Saint Patrick going back into slavery for the sake
of the King Of heaven and to the ancient songs, to Poetry.


not stridency nor a jagged glass
have I ever heqrd in the words I loved
but heaven scent as if a dove

and landed in my tree of poetry
even in the blasted bud,
the singed leaf

even accounting of all grief
still the words were starlight then t me
and now

the moon disappearing through clouds
yet the cloud still luminous.

in favor or out
and rich or poor
only the Word have I adored

the poems brave the poems unsure
unlocking the crystal of the heart

forbidding it to break.

mary angela douglas 18 march 2020