Mountain Sanctuaries Poem by Hugh Joseph Curran

MOUNTAIN SANCTUARIES

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,
is the cry that echoes in mountain
sanctuaries,
where skulls are thronged
by immersion in the eternal requiem:
aeternam dona eis, domine.

Inspired by the prophets,
we dispersed multitudes
with canons of faith,
uncovered revelations
and mysteries on a strand
of apocalyptic vision;

Bound by thanatos,
the cadavers of the past
were bitten by the worm
of abstinence,
angelic messengers
asking us to feed the lambs,
feed the sheep;

Yet our cloisters were steeped
in a claustrophobia
of flesh-eating words,
abscesses weeping
into a world wasting away.