Texts
excerpts from poems by Denise Levertov and the Latin Ordinary of the Mass
Tag: prayer
Denise Levertov
An excerpt from “Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus” by Denise Levertov
Mary Oliver
The spectral possibility that gives lyric its urgency is not that the beloved isn’t listening, but that the beloved doesn’t exist. Prayer takes place at the edge of a similar abyss.
from “The Sower against Gardens” by Linda Gregerson
W.H. Auden
Chris Kraus, Aliens & Anorexia
Eleven Addresses To The Lord — 3 by John Berryman
Sole watchman of the flying stars, guard me
against my flicker of impulse lust: teach me
to see them as sisters & daughters. Sustain
my grand endeavors: husbandship & crafting.
Forsake me not when my wild hours come;
grant me sleep nightly, grace soften my dreams
achieve in me patience till the thing be done,
a careful view of my achievement come.
Make me from time to time the gift of the shoulder.
When all hurt nerves whine shut away the whiskey.
Empty my heart toward Thee.
Let me pace without fear the common path of death.
Cross am I sometimes with my little daughter:
fill her eyes with tears. Forgive me, Lord.
Unite my various soul,
sole watchman of the wide & single stars.
Little Bristling Soul 