Rivendell Remembered Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

I lost my place in the book of snows
and through the sleet, the murmuring rose
the secret song, and the wind that blows
from the Spirit alone.
and yet I kept the isles of green
a pomegranate star and the life unseen
and wondered wondered
where You are.
it wasn't in the news of the day
it was so much farther, farther away
I found the harp and the stageless plays
and the beautiful songs just stowed away
in the piano bench at home.
the wind draws colder and the Unknown
the ship of Art slows through the floes
of the sullen dark and the canceling heart
but God who reigns hears every cry
of the poets in exile
or you or I
and there are things that cannot die
no matter who decrees it.
God will restore the fallen knights
heft to their shields I pray at night
and through the morning and afternoon
I pledge to my heart each raffled tune
and carry the burden of beauty as far as I can
into a distant, and well forged land.
mary angela douglas 18 september 2023