Leigh Ann Hussey, 'Chapel Perilous'

[duathir.livejournal.com]

Chapel Perilous

Darkness surrounds me; I kneel down here as my world unknits.
Pain reminds me I'm still alive, so I hold on to it
as I hold on to my drawn blade as my life slides along the edge:
between cracked stones it finds the earth to whom I made my pledge.

I am a naked blade, no sheath to hold me safe:
I have been drawn and now I must act.
Where is the wielder's hand? Where is the enemy?
Who now remembers the pact?

The chapel is empty; all unkempt the barren vessels.
There are no saints in evidence; there are no miracles,
so I kneel before the altar, chant my prayers in failing voice
because I have been chosen: because I have no choice.

I am a naked knight: no shield protects my soul.
I have been sworn and I must fulfill.
Where is my hope and faith? Where is the light to come,
when now the day never will?

What I believed is done in an unwilling suspension.
I have fallen between the cracks in God's attention.
so I turn from the altar and I look to the path beyond,
wrap my light around me, and quietly move on.

by Leigh Ann Hussey