Tuesday, May 10, 2011

saint

In the way
of all martyrs,
you invite me to dance,
backslide in a cycle
of earth. I grow

accustomed
to your chant,
swaying tassel,
incense laden hoodie,
the prestidigitation
of my wolves and sparrows.

Your belt holds the key
to the sacred ballroom,
grotto of my continual
waxing and waning.

I dig up your coffin
with my hands, fill my nails
with the marrow
of spring, chip
a piece of your bone
for a relic.

Tess Kincaid
May 2011



92 comments:

  1. Have always loved St Francis. esp like the end lines: dig up your coffin with my hands/fill my nails with the marrow of spring.

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  2. This is a fine wine, Tess! Smoky and complex, with an aftertaste of berries and a hint of tobacco. The last sentence is magnificent.

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  3. Lovely piece. Being a collector of bones myself, I especially love the ending.

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  4. "fill my nails
    with the marrow
    of spring"
    is just frickin gorgeous!

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  5. i love saint francis - i love how he saw the world. such a great prompt and your poem is beautiful.

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  6. I think Francis would love, just love, for you to dig up his coffin, to fill up your nails, to be that close to him, to the earth.

    This poem spoke to me, and whispered all the things I love about St. Francis - most of all, the "incense laden hoodie"

    From The Saint Himself:

    Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death, from whom no-one living can escape..

    Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will. No second death can do them harm.

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  7. I have to echo the chorus here, "fill my nails with the marrow of spring" is the most beautiful line, in a beautiful poem.

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  8. Lovely, unexpected.
    These lines for me;

    incense laden hoodie,
    the prestidigitation
    of my wolves and sparrows.

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  9. You made me really feel the backward glimpse of time. Great!!!

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  10. as always I leave your blog with a smile on my face and your words dancing in my head :)

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  11. The 'marrow of spring' lept at me too. That's what poetry's all about; finding so few words to say so much.

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  12. A very sensual experience, and very well written. thanks for sharing this with us, Tess.

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  13. Fabulous poem, Tess. Yes, the final stanza is exquisite!

    I, too, am feeling the magic of the wolves and sparrows lately.

    Do you suppose there's enough coffin and marrow and bone chps for us both?

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  14. Tess~ Beautiful and captivating words... I especially like the 3rd stanza.

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  15. I love this piece... its representation of nature combining with spirituality. For me, both relate one unto the other...

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  16. And now the secret is out,
    for there is a catacombs beneath
    Willow Manor, a Dublin myth
    turned reality, there in that
    secret closet grotto where
    skulls are piled, and bones,
    and feathers, and claws,
    and candles tall and fat
    and red, dripping hot onto
    manor china thought lost,
    and several bells, and a
    very old tambourine, and
    a wreath of spring flowers,
    woven around pipe stems,
    the blossoms wilted
    and dry, death as beautiful.

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  17. wow....what a complex and textured song

    off to do some digging myself.

    happy spring sweet tess!

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  18. Your masterpiece is filling me with longing ~ for a journey to Assisi and a tour of St. Francis Cathedral ~ to the region of Umbria ~ to Italy!

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  19. ohhhh... when I saw the prompt today I wrote immediately. Your poem is lush... as if another soul-prompt.

    I was typing this to you and my friend the scrub jay flew close and landed on a branch not far from my porch where I am writing today. Perfection.

    My Magpie for today.

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  20. I love it -- will think of it as I garden a bit today.

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  21. I like all the movement in this. He's not dead, as long as you hold a relic.

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  22. Yes, very earthy. I'm pondering this one ... I actually buried him in the ground when we were selling our house... and I never dug him up. A big "no no" I am told. I used to follow all the saints daily - interesting, their stories and "reasons for being". Technically, anyone who makes it into heaven is a saint. But the saints who get "days" and beatified are what I call a "capital S" saints. They were selected to send a message of hope, of encouragement, a good example so to speak for the "current" times. That i why some get "booted" from the official calendar. Not that they aren't saints anymore, they just aren't as relevant to "today". I think St. Francis will always grace us with his presence, though. Wow, did I ever go on. Sorry.

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  23. I kept meaning to use prestidigitation in a poem - every time I hear the Bruce Hornsby song Spider Fingers. Oh well, you used it much better than I would have I'm sure :)

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  24. Tess -- I cannot say how I feel any better than Glen Buttkus. His comments were exactly the words I would use if I was as ingenious as Mr Glen. -- barbara

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  25. Exquisite, Tess.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  26. dang...nice bone digging...great textures along hte way too...hoodie!

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  27. Love St. Francis too. A replica of him right outside my window in the midst of the hostas. I did dig up some marrow of spring while thinning them out. Not looking for a chip of bone however. Love it.
    QMM

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  28. "chip
    a piece of your bone
    for a relic."

    What a cunning way to end the show! Love at first read. There's so much to watch closer between the lines :)

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  29. Simply Maavaluss, Darlink. You just keep getting better and better, which is very cool, since you are a source of inspiration to do good art to many, including moi. Did you know I have an Edward Curtis photo that was taken in my backyard in 1905? Not the original (don't I wish!) but a copy. I can go out there and stand right where Curtis and a small band of Spokanes stood. Want to see it? OK. However it would totally expose my exact location to the whole world, so I will send it undercover by one of our secret agents. 10-4? Alrighty then! Keep on Dancin' and a Prancin'!

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  30. PS: Hey! I just read the comment right above me. "Between the Lines" is my gig! At least she gets it. :>)

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  31. Wonderful Tess - the images seem to reside in a strange half-world somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. It is a gift, the ability to take people there. It is a poet's gift.

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  32. Love this one...and St. Francis. He was a very wise and kind man.
    I can smell the incense as if I were sitting in church...one of my favorite scents ever.

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  33. I'm actually here before the comment count reaches fifty! Yay! I enjoyed this, as I enjoy all your work, with its refined and always fresh-turned images and language. Esp like the switch in POV from 'your' to 'my' in the beginning, which twists the poem into a different than expected shape, and the final earthy lines.

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  34. Love this prompt, love the saint, love your work, it is always a pleasure!

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  35. wouldn'tchaknow?

    prestidigitation led to legedemain, another word that eluded me until now.......thank you for this introduction to such loverly words.

    and by the way, i love the poem. incense laden hoodies and swaying tassel has me in a medieval sort of mood.....

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  36. I am always amazed and impressed when I come here and find one of your wonderful poems with such poignant words.

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  37. Much do I 'read' in this few-worded bit of meditation...between those lines of thought, Tess Kincaid. Not sure WHY I've stalled myself at the RR Crossing of that:

    "...belt holding the key to the sacred ballroom...grotto of my continual waxing and waning."

    This is SPLENDID writing, whether in, between, above, or below the lines!
    LOVE!

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  38. yes love the earthy marrow of spring =)

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  39. Hi Tess-- a gorgeous, gorgeous poem. The marrow of spring indeed! Fabulous work, image to image. xxxj

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  40. Willow,
    Nature and all her magic do seem to be highest at this time of year.
    We have a statue of St. Fracis in one of our gardens, looking over all of God's creatures who venture there-in.
    rel

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  41. Wonderful, I love your incense laden hoodie!

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  42. A beautiful, eerie poem, Tess; almost haunting, stays in my hand beyond the reading and listening. The wonderful imagery conjures up the earthy and ethereal, the animalistic and deeply spiritual at the same time.

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  43. Very thoughtful poem, with powerful imagery.

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  44. Tess, bella poesia. Mambo con San Francesco. :)

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  45. Our reactions to sainthood are often a complex. This poem handles a personal perspective, beautifully.

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  46. Such imagery...just breathtaking!!

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  47. St. Francis appeals for many reasons. I like the idea of an invitation from a martyr to dance - what measure would it be?

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  48. OK.. this does it... how did Glenn Buttkus find out about our secret catacombs, anyway?.... the ghosts are not going to be happy about this. Now we'll have to initiate him into the circle... darn! hee hee... hey, this is a great one.. love it! keep up the good work... looking forward to owning your "Patina"! :)

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  49. Sweet, sweet poetry here, exhuming a saint's prayer in the poem. This one's for the missal which also serves as a dance card with the ages. - Brendan

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  50. Sweet, sweet poetry here, exhuming a saint's prayer in the poem. This one's for the missal which also serves as a dance card with the ages. - Brendan

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  51. Interesting imagery!
    Thinking of St. Francis I always imagine hills filled with red poppies and the song of birds. And Santa Chiara.

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  52. "I grow accustomed to your chant" brought to mind Henry Higgins song "Ive grown accustomed to your face---" in My Fair Lady. Not really such a stretch ---you too seem to address the music of ups and downs, smiles and frowns. You've created another wonderful dance.

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  53. St Francis is my favorite saint- we should all be so kind to animals.

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  54. Impressive, Tess, as usual, beaufiful imagery.

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  55. Very complex!
    Just finished watching The Bone Collector- lolss

    Then this.. Intense n with a great ending!

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  56. I love sitting with you in the garden. In so few lines such evocation. Brava.

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  57. "I dig up your coffin with my hands, fill my nails with the marrow of spring, chip a piece of your bone for a relic."

    Hi! Willow...
    The words to the poem "Saint"
    are beautiful!
    Thanks, for sharing!
    DeeDee ;-D

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  58. I'm throwing my hat in for this line as well: "fill my nails with the marrow of spring"

    Wonderful :)

    *thank you for the visit*

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  59. A lovely piece of writing, Tess.

    '...prestidigitation of my wolves and sparrows.'

    That is a great line. :-)

    Paul

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  60. 'the marrow of spring' is a mighty fine image!

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  61. a piece of bone for relic....that is truly what we can take from a saint like Francis...we always need the reminder of his simplicity...great prompt for thought...bkm

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  62. i LOVE St. Francis...Tess...i had to stop by to visit today..i am just coming out of a 6 week "blogging slump" ...i don't know what that was all about...but it is so good to be here with you today...i have missed you, my friend

    kary
    xo

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  63. Your words capture the passion that saint's have....love this Tess!! :-)

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  64. A lot of great expression here. I've read it a couple of times, and the line that stands out is, "you invite me to dance, backslide in a cycle of earth."

    St. Francis is pretty amazing :)

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  65. You got me with the first line, 'In the way of all martyrs,you invite me to dance'
    That absolutely captivates me.

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  66. delightful words,
    well done.
    :)

    Happy Belated Birthday.

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  67. Jingle, thank you for the birthday wishes, but my birthday was last October! ;^)

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  68. How does someone get 73 comments? Oh, write good, should have known. Great job with that pic prompt. Loved the last line. Wasn't expecting it. Love surprises.

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  69. Tess, this a wonderful, earthy feel to it...it coveys a texture. Your word selection is both gorgeous and clever...incense laden hoodie...c'mon, that's just great. Vb

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  70. Beautiful, Tess.
    We can learn so much from this very dear, humble, saint.
    What an incredible trust he had in God.
    Chelsi

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  71. "Fill my nails with the marrow of Spring" is a line I would be dizzyingly proud of creating. As always I suspect I'm in the dark as to just how brilliant you are...but I have flashing glimpses that you are without understanding how or why.
    I'm going to look up the meaning of prestidigitation.

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  72. Like sensuous soaps and scents in a spa bath! Wonderful!

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  73. Lovely piece of writing, Tess!
    Enjoyed it !
    Marinela

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  74. An incredible poem Lady Tess. When the chapbook arrives, I am going to write this poem on the front page. And one day when we meet (at your book signing in England) you will autograph The Saint for me xx

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  75. Mystical and spiritual. Lovely images. Your work is always a treasure to read!

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  76. Awesome read and voice for the poem.

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  77. Blogger is all screwy! Says it's "read only." Well, reading is good. For instance, your poem "saint" is amazing and holy, in the way that a human can be holy (which is the best way), in the way that a thing passed down can be holy: in the way that a thing passed on can be holy. And I love it.

    I had to click the audio for this one. There's something about the match of the material to your voice that makes me think you should be reading psalms out in church!

    When the glitch would not let me comment on that poem, I was distraught, and then distrait, and then I came back to the window later, tried again, failed - and realized well hey. I can always e-mail the reaction now, gather the thoughts and things I had in mind to say, and say them. And then when Blogger is working again, I can still leave the comment!

    Yay for the persistence of thought in held, perfect form. Yay for that trick, that we have invented: writing. After all is said and what's done is done, it is only in writing that words can approach to the memory of the eternal. Writing is the word of God.

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  78. Hi Tess~ The exquisite language and impressions expressed in your poem venerate this incredible saint more than anything presented for his canonization I'm sure! Earthy, interactive, familiar... "For it is in giving that we receive..." "Make me an instrument of Your peace." Yes, to dig deep in the earth and scrape a relic of St. Francis. Inspired.

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  79. Awesome..never read such a thing..

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  80. Dear Willow: Totally appreciate the depth of thought here as in; "I dig up your coffin". Yes, I admit being Sunday, and having a cold from walking on a beach with too many of St. Francis' birds I had to think about this abit! And then it dawned on me (being early am: I lie)I figured that this poem is more than alluding to an earthen coffin! Yes! An 'ah hah' moment The ground coming back to life! Love the word "prestidigitation" reminds me of digging and I now have to get the dirt out from under my nails! Thanks for this neaveau PATINA (i WANT TO PURCHASE....) yes very reliquary-esque and very poetic! Well read with rhythmic "sway" and dramatic flair!

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  81. Only you my dear Tess could have written such perfection and made us all think.

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  82. what else to add...

    but the awe.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)