By Victor Kralisz
1.Wake
Ring the bell, Bother,
Strain those hands
Against corded rope.
Make a noise of meaning –
Peal it so the clapper
Clangs its sides,
Reverberates through valley
Calling.
Call us, Brother,
Knowing but always
Never not knowing
What will happen.
2.Vigils
At still shaded hour of night
Begin the day
In long and ardent psalmody.
Incessant wreck and ruin
Of David: cursing, beating, praising, reviewing
Saved for this first moment
When even Summer’s sun
Still rests yet before
Unveiling the valley’s
Black green world walls.
The kitchen, pots, the sheep,
The orchard, garden, all will wait
While songs arise
Between the waking
And the sleep.
3.Lauds
Forget regret for yesterday
You fool –
Let all that lies before
Awake your sunken,
Saddened heart.
Can we have patience
With a broken spirit
When all around us
There is balm and salve (the same?)
Unction for beginnings
And ends,
Hope for the present minute
Written on our faces
And sometimes
On our hearts?
There is so much to be done
And won’t you help us do it?
4.Sect
He wonders if his
Growling stomach
Awakens more than
Praise in those
Around him,
Guesses that
Forgiveness comes
With dinner.
Alleluia.
5.None
Strange incense rises
From field boots
Cleaned hastily
Over pebbled yard.
The perfume bought dearly
With labor
Offers praise of
Dung and sweat
To him who made it,
Like the sweet clover
Of the afternoon.
6.Vespers
We can hope that all things final
End here
And the song of evening
Yet reflects
The stillness of the day.
Never wishing things were true
We can hope that his simplicity
Is true and final.
We can hope that all things final
End here
On a day when we have hope.
On an evening journey
We can hope that all things final
End here
In the air
In the work
In the work of living here
In the end where all things final
End.
7.Compline
In darkness holy singing,
Harp-plucked songs
Hit sloping roofs
Twirl back and on again,
Soft reverberant piety.
Pray for safety
Pray for safety
Sleep and consolation –
In thanks for light today
And if …., for tomorrow.
Final pealing through
The valley
Awash in black green
Darkness.
Amen.
8.Sleepdream
There isn’t much
That touches the earth
As softly as the rain
On this cool night,
Nor much of sweetness
That we’d learn
Beyond these misty
Penetrations
The Oblates of Mount Saviour Monastery 