Sanctuary of the Burning Veil : An Incantation



“Sanctuary of the Burning Veil” : An Incantation

The world outside is ash and roaring flame,
yet instinct whispers where the veil is thin. 
You hear my spirit softly call your name, 
beneath the arch where aching nights begin. 

Yet instinct whispers where the veil is thin, 
lost woodland creatures trace the curved design. 
Beneath the arch where aching nights begin, 
ink-winged angels guide you through Soul’s dark night. 

Lost woodland creatures trace the curved design, 
drawn to the heat of Love’s eternal spark. 
Ink-winged angels guide you through Soul’s dark night,
with fireflies and haunted spirits pulsing in the pure moonlight. 

Drawn to the heat of Love’s eternal spark, 
your urgent whispers merge eternal into mine. 
With fireflies and haunted spirits pulsing in the pure moonlight,
we press our skin against the sacred line. 

Your urgent whispers merge eternal into mine, 
step through the mirror, leave the world to burn. 
We press our skin against the sacred line, 
where separate souls can nevermore return.

Step through the mirror, leave the world to burn, 
the Silent Oracle commands the dream to wake.  
Where separate souls can nevermore return, 
in lost-lover woods, our warm deep sanctuary we make. 

The Silent Oracle commands the dream to wake, 
the world outside is ash and roaring flame. 
In lost-lover woods, our warm deep sanctuary we make, 
you hear my spirit tenderly call your name.


Candide Diderot. ‘26

firelovemagicromancesensualpantoum

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Daniel Henry Rodgers

June 1, 2026 at 9:06 AM

Dear Candide, I like how the lines circle back gives the whole thing a rhythm, almost like the poem is breathing on its own. I also like how you blend the earthly and the otherworldly without forcing either. It draws you in and keeps you there. That is what makes a great poem. Blessings, Daniel

Candide Diderot

June 1, 2026 at 11:37 AM

Thank you, Daniel. When I thought about the form and flow of a Pantoum, I felt it was a brilliant vehicle for an "Incantation" and to envelop and bring to life the characters in my mind. I do agree with you - it is like the poem is breathing on its own. Perhaps some "automatic writing" channelling some other worldly being/s have taken place in the last few writes (Yeats and Georgie Hyde Lees comes to my mind, when I think of "automatic writing" and their escoteric partnership). The "otherworldly" in my mind, without doubt, is all around us - always. The world is a mad place; escape in one way or another, comes to mind - and at this juncture in my writing journey, is essential.

Paige Hind

June 1, 2026 at 1:50 AM

What a breathtaking Pantoum. Your work leaves me speechless.

Candide Diderot

June 1, 2026 at 6:06 AM

Thank you again, Paige. I wrote this with the Epic Narrative in mind in my short story pages, it goes well with some of the motifs - but it also ties in very well with the previous poem, "The Woods, The Lost Horizon and The Blinding Sky". I don't really follow structured poetry - I'm more narrative and free verse - when it comes to classic structured style/form, I love the style of a Pantoum, very much.