b19


Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among these rocks,
Our peace in His will
And even among these rocks
Sister, mother
And spirit of the river, spirit of the sea,
Suffer me not to be separated

And let my cry come unto Thee.





TSEliot

b7


Oh come with me, my bride,
come down with me from Lebanon.
Look down from the peak of Amana,
look down from Senir and Hermon,
from the mountains of the leopards, the lion’s den.

You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride,
ravished me with one glance of your eyes,
one link of your necklace.
And oh, your sweet loving, my sister, my bride.
The wine of your kisses, the spice of your fragrant oils.
Your lips are honey, honey and milk are under your tongue,
your clothes hold the scent of Lebanon.


Song of Solomon

c34



Deep peace of the running wave to you, of water flowing, rising and falling,
sometimes advancing, sometimes receding…
may the stream of your life flow unimpeded!
Deep peace of the running wave to you!

Deep peace of the flowing air to you, which fans your face on a sultry day,
the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically,
which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you!

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
who, herself unmoving,
harbours the movements and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures,
while resting contented, stable, tranquil.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!

Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
which stay invisible till darkness falls and discloses their pure and shining presence
beaming down in compassion on our turning world.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you!


From the Gaelic

a15





I thank you God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky, and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(I who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday, this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)



EECummings

f15



I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.


WBYeats

s22



Blessing of galaxies, blessing of stars:

Great stars, small stars, red stars, blue one.

Blessing of nebula, blessing of supernova,

Planets, satellites, asteroids, comets.


Blessing of our sun and moon, blessing of our earth,

Oceans, rivers, continents, mountain ranges

Blessing of wind and cloud, blessing of rain,

Fog bank, snowdrift, lightning and thunder.


Bless the wisdom of the holy one above us.

Bless the truth of the holy one beneath us.

Bless the love of the holy one within us.


Chinook psalter