VENERATION, THE QUEEN OF ALL AFFECTIONS

 

VENERATION, THE QUEEN OF ALL AFFECTIONS

Veneration, the queen of all affections

Like a silk white flag in battle

Like the sky’s comparison with Heaven

Word, surrounded by halos

Of a shimmering steadfastness. fidelity

Over time, distance, circumstances cannot alter

Higher than friendship, honoring the teacher

The saint, the Living Christ

Veneration, the heart bowed down to the ground

The word kept like a violet flame alive

In the world that lives to curry favor

 To seek advantage

To exchange tit for tat

Through all torments sustained

The love that sings unbidden

And untaught with nothing to gain

In the sleet within the winds

That You, my God

Should be planted, root branches and all

Within my understanding

That without clear reverence

The Spring through winter regained

We cannot live.

We dare not speak Your Name.

mary angela douglas 14 april 2024