Kyrie eleison priest says
Water important and priest prays
At baptism, chants are incessant
Lord have mercy for those present
Child is beautiful, twelve months old
Godparents, traditions uphold
Undress child, it's fear transparent
Lord have mercy for those present
In font, oil added to water
Placed in water is goddaughter
Oil with water stings, unpleasant
Lord have mercy for those present
Three times child is immersed waist deep
Christ three days entombed for his sheep
In white sheet wrapped, light florescent.
Lord have mercy for those present
Contest Entry: A KYRIELLE ABOUT WATER
Sponsor: Kim Rodrigues
Date: 2022/08/17
On a chain - I wear a cross.
Around my neck I do.
I don’t wear it to say, “I Am”.
I don’t wear it for you.
For me - it’s now a symbol of compassion and humility
and the world’s need for love.
It's a cry for a peaceful existence
just like the symbol of the dove.
When I was young - I often went to church.
It was a place my parents brought me to.
For I was baptized Greek Orthodox
therefore - an expectation of what I must do.
There - many things made sense to me.
Now some did not, and don’t.
But I learned to not be bothered
by inaccuracies and the unexplained – I said I won’t.
In my later years - I searched, felt, and realized the mystical
in the one God I believe exists.
And in the plants, the animals, and of course humans too
I discovered a spirituality that subsists.
My beliefs - might now be complex.
Some might say they do not fit a norm.
As I read about other religions and the spiritual world
I ultimately went through a reform.
Today - I occasionally go to my Orthodox Church
to pray in a place of sanctuary, where they say God does reside.
To fulfill a never ending need to learn and understand
and to still a rather busy mind.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND HOLY SPIRIT
Born and baptised in the Greek orthodox faith,
Often went to church with my dad at the Anglican
Church, kissed the Pope’s ring when he visited
The Convent, all the way from the Vatican,
Held a key in my heart and soul for all three of
These religions, that is how it was meant to be,
Decorative Rosaries, Christmas Carols that I love,
Hand painted Greek Icons , all destined to be, an
Integral, all-encompassing and faithful entire me!
Death on Highway 12
For James Gilman, c. 1970
“Among your saints give rest, O Christ,
To the souls of your servants
In a place where there is no pain or sorrow or grief
But only life everlasting.
May his memory be eternal.”
Memorial Hymn of the Greek Orthodox Church
In the white bed
Between the lanes
Wrapped in a black overcoat
A boy lies dead.
In Christmas thoughts
Hurrying across the lanes
A hiss of air
A muffled noise
Some metal distorted
A thud
A fall
A last breath.
The lights on the Christmas tree
Dimmer tonight.
A life
A Dream
All memories to cling to dearly.
This story is told by the howling wind
And smudges on the snow
My heart is made of sorrow.
Amen.