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Matins

Midnight's Liturgy

By Steve HansonPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
Runner-Up in Abecedarian Challenge
Matins
Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash

Always

Before the dawn, the lamplight

Constellations are strung, and the night wind’s

Diminuendo already sung at

Evensong. Vespers gave me

Finality, the day’s long liturgy resolved.

Gnostic residue coalesced to dreaming

Hours of mystic somnolence.

I should be asleep, I know.

Just silent prayer voiced in slow repose

Kyrie,

(Lord have Mercy), Kyrie.

My eyes are restless, though.

Night’s stellar lamps sing softly

Of igneous, liquid black, and

Pull a wayward mind into her patchwork

Quilt.

Righteous souls sleep soundly, but

Sleep is just a prayer without a voice.

The liminal space between midnight and the dawn,

Under the Magellanic bands that chant

Verse and chorus to their faithful few—

Watching for

Xanthic harbingers of dawn.

Yet I sing psalms offered by

Zephyrs of a Sun reborn.

nature poetry

About the Creator

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insight

  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

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Comments (4)

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  • Joe O’Connor2 years ago

    I love how this flows, and you almost don’t notice the constraint of the letters! “Pull a wayward mind into her patchwork” is probably my favourite line. The imagery you create is wonderful, and I really like the majestic, peaceful tone.

  • J2 years ago

    Beautiful

  • D.K. Shepard2 years ago

    Impressive! Your word choice and imagery is captivating! Congrats!

  • Liam Storm2 years ago

    A great and interesting read and submission to the Abecedarian challenge! Please check mine out if you get the chance ♥️

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