Friday, September 13, 2019

Cloister Ruins



Good morning, Poetry Friday! Laura Purdie Salas has the Roundup over at Writing the World for Kids. Thank you, Laura!

I may have posted this poem before. I thought I'd share it again in honor of Saint Hildegard as I prepare a virtual party to celebrate her Feast Day on September 17. I wrote it in 2002 after visiting the ruins of Disibodenberg, where she first became a nun. There's a link to the Facebook party below. I'll share Hildegard's poetry and music. There will be prizes! I'd love to see some of you there.

Ruins of Disibodenberg, Odernheim, Rheinland-Pfalz

CLOISTER RUINS

Seeds sprout in holy space until
beech and oak arch over toppled stones.

Larks trill in a hilltop canopy
where psalms once floated upward,
and leafy hands now murmur prayers.

The stones, weighted with

longing whispered in secret,
sink into the earth.
Centuries ago they tumbled, like thunder
rumbling through the Great Silence.

Ivy anchors their moss velvet faces. 
Rose thorns ramble over crumbled gables.
Helpless to shelter, the stones stand sentry,
mute witnesses to divine desire.

Did you think wind, rain, the shifting of earth’s crust
conspired to collapse these hallowed structures?

Know this - the human heart
beats a hunger for its creator
more powerful than natural forces.
Echoes of supplication saturate each stone.
Ages of murmured ardor are stronger than gravity.

These stones are deaf now.
Speak freely.
                                © Joyce Ray



7 comments:

  1. Beautiful poem, Joyce. Thank you for sharing it again!

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  2. The images you create take us right there, Joyce. I like the question, too. Thanks for sharing this beautiful place.

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  3. Joyce, this whole poem feels so...weighty. Your word choices and phrasings make me see tiny details but also huge questions and thoughts. Lovely!

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  4. Yes, this is such a lovely poem. I love all the imagery!

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  5. Thank you so much for sharing this Joyce. Not only have you taken me into this once holy place where time has ravaged it, you've made me long for what was there before.

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  6. Beautiful poem Joyce, and this is such a powerful, timeless line,
    "Echoes of supplication saturate each stone."
    Thanks for sharing these thoughts in your poem.

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