Before The Shrine
Don Hynes November 5, 2022
When the tree of understanding
with its deep roots of faith
was felled by the godless,
the ancient island sank
beneath waves of ignorance,
the pain of displacement
and loss of sanctuary
buried under years of hunger,
centuries of wandering.
To recover, even to restore
called for prophets of strength,
poets of valor, for the holy place
to be held sacred once more.
Repenting from wrong doing,
priests and priestesses
lined the corridors of purgatory,
cheerful despite the gloom
and depravity against our beloved.
Awakening in these hours,
the light of the living is upon us
and where we stand we are not alone.
God speed us on this perilous journey
for the fallen are lost, and the lost
will not be found. Oh tender mercy,
be upon us, the vagrant people,
that once more we find the fountain
to raise the dead who only sleep
and together before the shrine
of soul and spirit
to innocence restored.
