WARRIOR, by guest poet ROBERT ROMANELLI

WARRIOR

Dead in body but not in soul, Agnes
drove her spirit to span the galaxies,
from quasar to super cluster,
though no one on earth took notice.

Frayed at the edges was the cot
she had scavenged for sleep.
Deserted and neglected was the lonely
brick house on that desolate street,
where her room in the basement stretched
thin the limits of abandoned consolations.

Yet closet of prayer it was, this sad sinking
abode, her decaying cathedral in the heart
of a ghetto of dread, a shack of old stones
bridging nebulae whose diameters could span
the space across a thousand solar systems.

Agnes never thought of the stars above.
She did not need to. Prayer worked.
Power flowed. In that hope she had faith.
Over the years she had seen it happen,
the rising and falling of dynasties and
kingdoms, the flood of miracles.

Barely did her flesh cast a shadow
on the limed-over bricks in this room,
walls that had witnessed sorrow and suffering,
violence and blood, the horrors of death,
indifference and forgotten dreams, lost plans,
lost hope, lost time. In spite of this oppression,
Agnes uttered much prayer.

No human eyes saw her hands aflutter,
but angels inscribed each spoken phrase.
And when Agnes raised her arms in praise,
starry systems parted, paths appeared between
heaven and earth; armies marched to do
God's will, and the universe tottered on
the brink of destruction.

Agnes worshiped Jehovah-Nissi—
the powers of darkness shuddered in terror.
Great was their fear at the slightest moving
of her old parched lips.

[Notes by Roswila – Agnes: root meaning “pure” or “holy;" St. Agnes of Rome. Jehova-Nissi: Hebrew meaning “The Lord Our Banner.”]

"Warrior" Copyright © 2010 Robert E. Romanelli, PhD

Poetry Collection, Soli Deo Gloria, by Robert Romanelli

Photo "Invocation" by Roswila.


PLEASE ALSO NOTE: in most browsers you can click on the above image for a larger version. Also, that the photo accompanying a post is not necessarily meant to illustrate it, but to reflect some small, even slant aspect of the verse -- similar to Japanese haiga (illustrated haiku).

There are many other sorts of posts on this blog. I indicate which are about or influenced by dreams. Some non-dream focused posts are book reviews, "regular" poems (some by other writers, as the above is), scifaiku, writing exercises, Tarot haiku, photos, haiga, and so on. However, most of those are in much older posts. There's a listing by month going back to early 2006, at the end of the sidebar.

Click here for a more in-depth INTRODUCTION.

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‘til next time, keep dreaming,

[aka: Patricia Kelly]
**** If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”) **** My other blogs: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA’S TAIGA TAROT; and OPENING TO THE LIGHT ****